Earthland Monsters
by tetsuryu
Summary: Natsu doesn't know what he expects, having a crush on Lucy, but it certainly isn't the screaming monster trying to kill them. Nor is it Lucy cracking her whip and taking that monster head on. Modern Supernatural AU in which Lucy is the only one with powers… or is she?
1. first monster

The new student Lucy is anything but mysterious.

She's friendly, kind, maybe even a little weird, but she wears her heart on her sleeve and is easier than an open book to read. Lucy is all silky blonde hair and warm brown eyes, attentively taking notes in class and participating in class discussions with her intelligence and wit.

She transferred to his university midway through the semester, but immediately got along with everyone and made more friends in a week than Natsu had in a semester. Even though they've never properly spoken to each other, when their eyes meet across the room Lucy gives him a smile—the same one she gives everyone else, really—which makes his face flush and his heart beat faster in his chest.

Okay, so maybe he has a little crush. Just a _teeny tiny_ one, not worth mentioning at all.

"You're a creep."

He looks up from where he's scrolling Lucy's Instagram on his phone to give Gray a glare. "Shut up."

His best friend looks at him like he's utterly pathetic. "You've never even spoken to her, but here you are staring at her Instagram, _which you found by stalking your cousin's girlfriend's followers._ "

"I didn't stalk!" he grumbles, but even to him it sounds meaningless. "And it's not like I told Levy to be friends with Lucy. They were already following each other."

"Just talk to her, coward," a deep voice rumbles. Natsu sees their other friend, Gajeel, plopping down on the seat across from him, two steaming plates of food in his hands. They're sitting at a quiet, secluded courtyard on campus, one that few people frequent because of the newer, cleaner student centre that'd just opened. The courtyard is surrounded by trees and far away from most of the faculty buildings, which made it an unpopular spot to frequent.

"Stop calling me a coward!" Natsu yells, jumping to place on foot on the bench and leaning across the wooden table. "You wanna go?!"

"You're gonna embarrass yourself in front of the girls."

"The… girls?" He freezes, then narrows his eyes. "You didn't."

Gajeel smirks. "But I did."

Natsu turns in the direction Gajeel came from, seeing Levy, Gajeel's girlfriend, walking towards them. She waves brightly at them, wild blue hair flying in the wind, then turns back to continue her conversation with…

He gulps. _Lucy._

Natsu slowly removes his foot from the bench, clearing his throat as he settles down in his seat. He stares resolutely at the wooden table in front of him.

"Hey guys!" Levy greets, "Gajeel invited us over for lunch today, hope that's alright?"

Alright? Oh, it was _more_ than alright. Natsu finds his eyes once again drawn to the blonde girl, her wandering eyes landing on his when she catches him staring. His eyes widen and he looks away.

"You don't gotta ask these losers, Lev," Gajeel snorts.

"Be nice," Levy chides him, then looks at her friend. "Lucy, these are Natsu and Gray."

"Hey," Gray nods.

"H—Hi," Natsu manages. Oh god. He's not ready. Someone slides onto the bench, taking the empty space beside him. His eyes travel up to expanse of smooth, toned legs to the denim shorts and tight-fitting t-shirt, all the way up to the blonde hair and amused smile. He swallows.

"Hey, Natsu right? I've seen you in one of my classes."

"Uh, uh, yeah," he stutters. "New Media Communications."

Lucy nods enthusiastically. "If I had known you were Gajeel's friend, I would've said hi to you sooner!"

"Yeah, me—me too," he grins, lying through his teeth. "Had no idea you and Levy were close."

Someone—sounds like Gray—coughs loudly. Natsu shoots him a glare, which Gray parries with a smirk.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," Gray mentions, standing up. "You guys want anything?"

"Oh! I'll come with you," Levy stands up. "I want to see what they have."

Gajeel eyes the two left at the table, then stands as well. He leaves without a word.

"So, do you guys have lunch here often? I never knew anyone hung out at this place," she says, unbothered by the fact that they were alone.

Natsu feels his heart speed up. She's making conversation with him! This is his chance to impress.

"Yeah, well," he laughs lightly, "That's what makes it great."

 _...Uh what? So lame._

"I like it," she smiles at him, despite his less-than-impressive answer. Her eyes are an even more alluring shade of brown up close. "Very nice and quiet."

He straightens and his grin widens. "Maybe you should come by more often, then."

Her smile drops.

Oh shit. He fucked up.

"Lucy, I—"

"Shh."

Lucy slowly rises from her seat, her hand sliding into her bag. He realises that her attention is no longer focused on him.

"What's wrong?"

And that's when the ground starts shaking.

"Shit, it's an earthquake!" Natsu grabs Lucy's wrist, trying to pull her down under the sturdy wooden table, but she shakes him off. "What are you doing?!"

"It's not an earthquake," Lucy says, voice calm. She pulls out a small pouch from her bag and hooks it on her belt.

"What are you—"

The ground bursts open and a loud screech pierces the air.

An honest-to-god _monster_ shoots out of the ground, its skin sickly shades of pale beige and green veins, hairless body soaring through the air with its wings. When it hovers Natsu can see that its wing is split into three separate parts on either side, its face strangely humanoid but with sharp, yellow teeth.

Blood pounds in his ears. He's so busy staring at that thing that he can't even move.

And in the midst of this, Lucy steps up, unafraid.

The monster stops when it spots Lucy, hovering in the air with a nasty sneer.

" _Celestial_ ," the monster hisses.

Lucy narrows her eyes. "Creatures of Tartaros have no place on Earthland," she speaks. Natsu gapes. Lucy _knows_ this thing?

The monster lets out a screech of anger. The shrill sound rattles through his eardrums.

Sheer terror floods through him when the monster attacks, diving straight towards her.

"Lucy!"

"Open, gate of the lion! Leo!"

A glowing gold circle with intricate geometric patterns appears where Lucy is standing, and when it fades there's a man in front of her, mid-motion as he punches the monster in the face. The man's hair is a wild orange mane, his fist glowing gold as it smashes the monster into the ground.

"I was wondering when you'd call me, my dear Lucy," Orange Hair says flirtatiously when he straightens, brushing the dust off his tailor suit.

Lucy rolls her eyes and holds out a hand. Orange Hair takes a whip out of his suit jacket and hands it to her, and she tightens her fist around it.

By this time the monster has recovered, and it flies into the air again, trembling with anger.

"Let's go!" Lucy shouts. She cracks her whip and it explodes to life—a glowing blue with yellow electricity pulsing around it.

Lucy is a superhero.

It's a fact. He watches in stunned silence as both Lucy and Orange Hair charge at the monster, Lucy snapping her whip so it catches around a wing, then tugging it forwards harshly so it slams into Orange Hair's waiting fist. Lucy follows up with her own spin-kick, a similar golden glow enveloping her foot as it collides with the monster's face.

The monster sneers, flying up into the sky. "The lion cannot hope to break my skin with its punches."

"Then I'll just have to tear your skin apart!"

Orange Hair disappears in a burst of light, and in a flash Lucy has a key in her hands. Her glare is determined.

"Open, gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

It's then that Natsu realises these… creatures Lucy's apparently summoning are based on the horoscopes.

When the same circle fades there's a man with a funky red outfit, a huge metal tail—resembling that of a scorpion—protruding from his waistcoat.

"Scorpio! Sand him down!"

The man gets down on all fours, the tail pointing at the monster. Sand _shoots out of the tail_ , trapping the monster in a giant sand vortex.

Lucy jumps, her clothing morphing into a skin-tight fighting suit, with her hair up in a ponytail and her entire back exposed. There's a little scorpion tail protruding from her butt. He barely gets the chance to have a proper look at her outfit before she disappears, diving into the sand tornado with immense speed.

The sand continues to pick up, and soon he has to shield his eyes with his forearm, unable to bear the sandstorm any longer. Through the howling wind he hears more of the wretched screeches of the monster, and the sound of Lucy's whip cracking as it makes contact.

"Scorpio!" he vaguely hears Lucy shout, "more!"

"As you wish!"

The sand is so thick is practically a wall, and there's one decisive crack of Lucy's whip and one final, ear-piercing scream.

The sand disperses and there's silence.

Somehow he finds himself standing, moving out from under the table.

Lucy stands in front of the monster, victorious. There are slashes across its skin, revealing its green blood, and its eyes are closed forever. She turns.

In the calm he can finally see her, the headband across her forehead with the Scorpio sign, armoured plates on her shoulders, forearms, elbows, and legs. Her hands slacken on the whip in her hands.

She looks like a warrior.

"Thanks, Scorpio," she says, raising the key he'd seen her hold earlier. "And take that fury with you, please." She smiles at the scorpion man who returns it with a matching grin and nod. He walks over to the monster and places a foot on it, then they both disappear in a burst of light..

When he looks back at Lucy the strange clothes are gone, and she's back to the t-shirt and jeans she had been wearing.

For a moment they just stare at each other, neither knowing what to say.

"Are you guys okay?!"

They look up to see their friends returning, running towards them with worried expressions.

"We had to take cover when the earthquake began, and then there was that sandstorm?" Levy rambles on, clearly distraught. "What the hell was _that_?"

Lucy looks at Natsu. She seems a little hesitant and even afraid of what he was going to say. Natsu turns to his friends. "We're, uh, we're fine. We hid under the table when the earthquake started and the sand was too thick to see anything. Honestly, I don't have any idea as to what happened either."

"You sure you guys are okay?" Gajeel asks again, expression serious. "Lucy?"

"I'm fine," she breathes. Natsu and her meet eyes again, and she sends him a grateful smile.

There's a lull in silence as they all survey the damage. That's a hole in the ground from where the monster had burst out from, but the sandstorm Lucy caused filled it enough for it to look like the earth cracked during the quake.

"That was incredibly dangerous…" Levy breathes, her eyes running over the aftermath. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

Lucy exchanges a glance with Natsu again, and she smiles and shrugs. "I guess we got lucky."

⁑

⁑

"There are… realms in this world," Lucy tells him, when they sit on the couch in her apartment, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands. He's lucky she didn't pretend like nothing had happened, instead offering to provide some explanation for what he had witnessed.

Natsu takes a sip of the hot chocolate, letting the warmth settle in his body. Without it, he's sure he'll be vibrating with excitement. Despite having a million questions in his head, he keeps quiet and lets Lucy speak.

"This realm is known as Earthland. The life forms on this realm, like humans, are born of earth and water, muted and solid." She runs a finger over the rim of her mug. "The fury—uh, that thing that I'd slain, it's a creature of Tartaros, a… _region_ in the Underworld. Creatures of the Underworld are born of wild, raging fire."

His mind almost gets caught up in the sheer awesomeness of the word 'slain', but he has more pressing questions. He leans forward, voice low. "And you?"

Lucy flinches. Her fingers pause where they had been tracing the mug. She looks up at him—at the entirely curious gaze in his eyes. He isn't afraid, she notes, just a childlike wonder and genuine interest in her being. Lucy looks away, focusing on the plain walls of her apartment so she can gather her thoughts.

"I am… a mix. Between a human and a Celestial. My mother was a Celestial."

Natsu nods slowly. He keeps quiet about the past tense and veers to a safer topic. "Yeah, I heard that monster thing call you that. I take it Celestials and 'creatures of Tartaros' are enemies?"

Breathing a laugh, she shrugs. "They're probably not the best of friends…"

"So what are Celestials made of?"

She blinks at him. "Huh?"

"You said humans are earth and water, and the Underworld creatures are fire. So what about Celestials?"

"You know it doesn't actually mean 'made of', right…" she trials off at his blank stare, only to let loose another giggle. "Well, Celestials are beings of light, their Spirits beings of air."

"Spirits?"

"For a long time Celestials thought of Spirits as slaves. Tools, even. But for my mother, Spirits were friends and companions. That's how she taught me." She stands and grabs something from her bag, Natsu recognising the key pouch when she comes nearer. She settles back onto the couch and pulls out a single golden key. He sets down his mug curiously. "Spirits are beings that people born with Celestial power can summon. Different Spirits have different strengths, but most Spirits are fighters."

"Like that scorpion dude? And Orange Hair?"

She giggles again, and nods. "Orange Hair is Leo, thought he prefers the name Loke. He's one of my strongest Spirits. The other Spirit I summoned was Scorpio."

"Huh. I never would've thought the horoscopes were real. I mean, they're supposed to be names of the stars or something, right? And they're supposed to like, tell you your personality?"

"Well," she hums, "astronomy _is_ the study of celestial objects. As for telling your personality… Spirits are immortal. They had their fun with the Ancient Humans, and I guess those stories stuck."

"It was so cool how they came out during the fight!" Natsu exclaims then, bouncing a little in his seat. "Wow, I mean, I felt like I was watching a Pokemon match or something. Just not actual… Pokemon…"

Lucy throws her head back and laughs. It sounds like bells chiming, and Natsu finds it very fitting of a 'Celestial'. "I get what you mean," she says after she's calmed down. "Traditionally Spirits were kinda used like Pokemon, you know? Just to battle while their owners stand by and watch. But that's bullshit to me."

Her tone takes on something fierce, the curse she'd let slip only accentuating her sudden anger. She rubs a thumb over the symbol at the top of the key.

"My Spirits are my friends. And friends fight their battles together."

Natsu can't help the grin that stretches across his face. Lucy is so much more than a pretty face. He's learnt so much about her in the hour they'd spent talking than he'd ever did stalking her on Instagram, and he knows now that her kindness is one of courage and love.

"The fight was amazing, by the way," Natsu tells her. "You were so cool. Like a superhero!"

"I'm no superhero," she shakes her head with a smile.

"Look, you have powers and you just defeated a crazy monster from hell. You saved my life! That totally makes you a hero." He claps his hands together in a dramatic sigh. "My hero!"

Lucy laughs again and shoves at his shoulder. "Don't do that!"

"Why not! Guys can totally swoon over their female heroes too, okay!"

Rolling her eyes, she puts the key back in her pouch. The grin on her face mirrors his as she pets him on the cheek. "Okay, my poor damsel in distress. Only you're not a damsel… Hmm… Bachelor in a bind?"

Natsu gives her a weird look as she falls into another fit of giggles, apparently amused at her own joke. "That was lame, even for you," he comments, but even that doesn't quell her amusement. He taps her shoulder repeatedly. "Hey, Lucy. Lucy, focus. Can you summon a Spirit?"

She draws in a breath to stop her laughter. "Right now?"

He nods excitedly.

"I suppose I could summon a non-combat one…" she pulls out a key from her pouch, silver in colour this time, and holds it out in front of her. "Open, gate of the Canis Minor, Nikora!"

A similar gold circle diagram appears, only this time much smaller. Natsu has to lean all the way in to look at the tiny thing that appeared. It looks like a mini snowman, only it has hands and legs and is shaking uncontrollably.

"You're so tiny!" Natsu exclaims. He glances sideways at Lucy. "Why is it shaking so much?!"

"It's because you're scaring him." He watches Lucy calmly pick up the little snowman, holding it in her lap. It stops shaking once it's in her embrace. "Hello, Plue!" she gushes, "how are you doing today?"

"Puu-puun!" Plue cries, hugging his owner and rubbing the side of his face against her stomach. Honestly, Natsu is low-key a little jealous.

"He kinda reminds me of Happy, my cat."

"I guess Plue pretty much fits the human notion of a pet… Although to me he's more of a little companion. My tiny friend."

Plue seems to agree, as he stands and dances a little on her lap.

"Can I touch him?" he asks, once again leaning his face closer to the strange creature. Plue starts shaking immediately.

Lucy shrugs. "You'll have to ask him."

"Hi little guy!" he grins, trying to appear as friendly as possible. "I'm Natsu. You don't have to be scared of me! Come on, gimme a hi-five?"

Plue looks at Natsu's raised hand, then back at Lucy, who smiles encouragingly. Shyly, Plue raises his own small hand and touches it with Natsu's.

"Yes!" Natsu cheers triumphantly. "Nice to meet you, Plue!"

"Puu-puun!"

"You're taking all this a lot better than I would've expected," Lucy comments, a wry smile on her face. "Most people would be busy freaking out about how their understanding of the world has just been tipped over."

Natsu leans back into the couch, pondering Lucy's words. "I guess I've always believed in the supernatural… I mean, even up till middle school I believed that dragons were re—" he suddenly jerks upright, causing Plue to let out a distressed noise. Eyes wide, he stares into Lucy's brown orbs. "Dragons. Are they real?"

The surprise on her face melts into a sly smirk, and Natsu can feel his heart beating faster in his chest. "Yes."

"I knew it!" he screeches, jumping up and pumping a fist in the air. "Yes! Ha! In your face to all those dumbfucks that doubted me!" He whirls his head to look at the Celestial human again, noting the way her eyes sparkle as she looks at him. "Where are they? Can you summon one? Please?"

"I can't just _summon_ _a dragon_! Dragons are very powerful and very, very proud creatures. No way they'll even look at humans like us as anything other than food. Besides, dragons belong to their own realm. A realm that I don't have access to, before you ask. You can't just visit a dragon. They have to invite you."

"Well, then… get invited!"

"It's not that easy," Lucy rolls her eyes. "No one I know knows how to even get in touch with a dragon. They've isolated themselves to their own realm. It's been thousands of years since dragons have even set foot in Earthland. Or the Celestial World, for that matter."

Natsu slumps in defeat, coming to terms with the fact that he would never meet a real dragon. Well, at least the knowledge that they're real is comfort enough.

"Frankly, I'm a little insulted. You literally have a mage in front of you and the thing that gets you going is dragons?"

"A mage?"

An embarrassed flush tints her cheek. "It's just, uh, what I call myself. I mean. I'm not fully Celestial, nor fully human, so… a mage is more appropriate. A human who can use magic because of the Celestial blood in my veins."

"I like it," he grins. "It's a cool name."

She smiles back slowly. "Thanks."

"And it's not that I'm more excited about the dragons," Natsu continues. "I just didn't know if it'd be rude to ask you personal questions."

Lucy can't help the way the corners of her lips curl. "That's very considerate of you, Natsu. Well, I'm giving you permission. Ask away."

"Okay," he stretches his arms and places his hands behind his head. A picture of nonchalance to hide the reality that suddenly crashed down upon him. This was an opportunity to get to know his crush. His crush, who happens to be a fucking superhero. "What's your favourite colour?"

"...what?"

"Your favourite colour. 'S not that hard."

"It's um, blue."

"Cool. Mine's red."

"Really? I would've pegged you more for a pink kinda guy," she teases, eyeing the spiky hair on his head. "How many times did you have to bleach for that colour?"

"Ugh, my hair is _natural_! You practically live in a fantasy world and you don't believe in natural salmon hair?!"

Lucy smirks and shrugs. "Your brows are a dark brown, so how was I supposed to know?"

He huffs. "My brows are dyed."

For a moment she just stares, then she bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh away."

"You—your pink hair is natural, but your brown eyebrows are _dyed_?!"

"It was Gray, okay! He dyed it when I was sleeping!" he grumbles. It just makes her laugh harder, his pout deepens. He leans his face closer to her. "Is _your_ hair natural?"

"Of course! Blonde is a perfectly common colour."

"Whatever, you're just jealous because you can't have special hair like me."

She chuckles, slightly awed by the fact that they were already getting along like old friends, despite having properly met for the first time today. But… "Why aren't you asking me more questions about my non-human life?"

"You've told me quite a lot about it already," Natsu says, "and you can always tell me more later." He sits up straighter. "I wanna get to know human-Lucy."

Her eyes widen at that. A warm feeling blossoms in her stomach at the thought that he would value her Celestial and human side equally. Humans, with their ignorance, had always been regarded as inferior.

The tips of Natsu's ears burn in his favourite colour, and Lucy realises he must be embarrassed.

She smiles her brightest smile that day. "Only if you tell me about human-Natsu too."

* * *

 **A/N:** Here I am, starting a new story... Oops? I've read so many fics about Lucy being human and Natsu being a dragon/demon that finds her and saves her... But I wanted to do something opposite instead! We need more badass Lucy in our lives! Let me know how you felt about this! :) Thanks for reading.


	2. second monster

**Lucy:** Fun fact of the day: There's a realm called Edolas, populated only by cats with wings.

 **Natsu:** WHAT?!

 **Natsu:** no. freaking. way.

 **Lucy:** Yup. They're called Exceeds.

 **Natsu:** do cats automatically get wings if they go there

 **Lucy:** Um…

 **Natsu:** let me bring happy there

 **Natsu:** please

 **Natsu:** you've no idea how important this is to me

 **Lucy:** Happy's not going to sprout wings just because he goes there! He has to have Exceed blood.

 **Natsu:** ugh

 **Natsu:** you never know! he could be half exceed

 **Natsu:** just like how you're half human

 **Lucy:** Halfies are not exactly the most common breed…

"You've gotten pretty close with Lucy."

Natsu immediately flips his phone over, locking the screen as a precaution. He looks up as Gray slides into the seat beside him.

"Chill, I wasn't reading your texts," Gray waves a hand. "I just saw her name on the top. So?"

Clearing his throat, Natsu sits a little straighter. "So what?"

"How's your progress, dumbass."

He shoots his friend a glare at the insult. "It's uh, it's good. We're friends now."

" _Just_ friends? You've been pining after her the whole semester. I'd have thought you would at least flirt. If you knew how to."

"I do know how to flirt, asshole," Natsu rolls his eyes. "I just… It's a bit too early for that, I think. I mean… I don't want to ruin this."

"Natsu being patient! Never thought I'd see the day."

"Shut up. We bonded a life-and-death situation. I'm not going to jump her bones right after that!"

Gray nods, face solemn. "Right. I can't believe that happened. You know they still haven't managed to identify the reasons for that random quake?"

"Did they confirm it was an earthquake?"

"Uh, you were there when the ground cracked. Pretty sure that's what 'earthquake' means."

"Yeah, but…" he trials off, not really sure how to phrase his question. There's no way he could tell Gray about how it wasn't an earthquake at all.

"The news did say it was strange because the readings didn't match up. The tremors were only felt around one part of campus, suggesting it was a low magnitude quake, but yet there was a large crack in the ground at the epicentre."

"Strange," he replies half heartedly.

Their conversation comes to an end when a familiar blonde walks into the lecture hall. Natsu's attention is immediately on her and beside him he hears Gray scoff at the predictability.

She's wearing a form fitting crop tank and jeans, revealing a flash of a toned stomach when she moves. Over that she has a nice coat to combat the cold autumn weather. He doesn't really mean to ogle but it's hard when the jeans hug her legs like a second skin. Lucy looks around the room once she enters. She spots her usual group of friends near the side and waves at them with a smile.

Another day of staring at her from afar—

Wait. She's approaching.

"Dude, she's coming here!" Natsu hisses in a panic.

Gray shoots him an amused look. "I can see that."

Oh god. She's smiling at him. Oh no, oh shit. What is he even wearing today? He looks down at his graphic tee and black jeans and hurriedly tries to smooth his wild hair. He tugs nervously on the white muffler he always wears and straightens his biker jacket.

"You look ugly anyway," Gray drawls.

Natsu doesn't get the chance to reply, because Lucy's standing right in front of him, all sunshine grin and shining eyes. "Hey Natsu! Gray!"

"Sup."

He can't help but smile. "Hey Luce."

Lucy looks to the empty seat beside Natsu. "This seat taken?"

"N—no."

"Great," she drops her backpack on the floor and takes the seat beside him. The smell of her floral perfume permeates his nostrils.

"You're not sitting with your friends?"

She makes a disinterested sound. "They're more acquaintances, really. Besides, I'd much rather sit here."

He gulps around his racing heart at the wink she throws him.

Vaguely he registers Gray snickering. "You're killing this idiot, Lucy."

Natsu is about to turn and give that meddling bastard a piece of his mind, when Lucy's smile widens. "Good."

 _Good?!_

Her attention is diverted to pulling her laptop out of her bag, and Natsu looks to his friend for help. But Gray just continues to laugh.

"So, what were you guys talking about before I barged in?" Lucy asks, setting her laptop on the rickety pull-up table.

"The quake," Gray says. "About how it's still under investigation for how unnatural it was."

Lucy doesn't seem phased, only nodding along at the information. "It was, wasn't it?"

Their lecturer choose this opportune moment to waltz in. Conversations cease all around the lecture hall, as people begin to prepare for the lesson.

"They're onto you," Natsu leans over, keeping his voice low.

"Don't worry," she whispers in reply. "It's not my first rodeo."

He turns to look at her, surprised. "Really?! No way."

"Yup."

"What other monsters have you killed?"

She raises a brow and smirks. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Um, yes, he definitely would. But Lucy has turned back to the front, her countenance showing her desire to listen to the lecture, so Natsu can only drop his chin in his hand and stare blankly at the lecturer.

He wonders about the monsters she might've faced. Were they all scary and creepy like the fury? Were the big? Or small? Did they spit fire?

What spirits did she summon to fight them? Lucy did tell him she only has 10 out of the 12 zodiac keys, which are supposed to be the most powerful Spirits. Huh. Wonder what Cancer looks like. Is it a giant crab?

His mind wanders over to Lucy in her Scorpio outfit again, at the ferocity in her eyes and the confidence in her movements. He wonders if she looked just as hot fighting the other monsters as she did the fury.

He shakes his head to clear himself of the unsavoury thoughts. His eyes slide to Lucy's computer, suddenly acutely aware that she is sitting right next to him. She's actually taking notes.

Unlike his attentive seat mate, Natsu spends the entire lecture distracted by her. Sometimes he finds himself watching her out of his peripheral vision, others he spends working up his courage to ask her out after class.

"That'll be all for today," their lecturer announces, snapping him out of his daze. He hurriedly shoves his unused laptop into his bag and turns to Lucy.

"Hey, uh, do you have class after this?"

Lucy looks up from where she's carefully tucking her laptop into its sleeve. She shakes her head.

He grins. "Wanna grab lunch?"

She looks past his shoulder at Gray. "Are you coming too?"

"Luckily for this loser," Gray stands with a smirk, dropping an arm on Natsu's head. "I have another class."

Natsu swipes Gray's arm away with a scowl. It only widens Gray's annoying smile.

"Catch ya later, Lucy."

"Bye, Gray!"

When her eyes land back on Natsu's she can practically see his excitement and nervousness. His adam's apple bops up and down. "So, lunch?"

"Are you just trying to get more…" she lowers her voice, " _information_?"

Natsu frowns. "No, I want to hang out with you."

Her heart stutters a little at the words. It's refreshing to meet someone as genuine and innocent as Natsu, and she finds herself nodding. "Let's go then."

⁑

⁑

"You know how you were saying I didn't ask mage-related questions?"

"Mmhmm."

"I thought really hard about it, and I got one."

Lucy looks at him curiously. She lowers the burger she'd been eating, watching Natsu gulp down the rest of his before and rub the back of his hand across his mouth roughly.

"What are you doing on Earth?"

She can feel her lips part in bewilderment. Did he really just…?

His expression morphs into a very belated realisation when Lucy doesn't reply. "Oh shit! Wait, I didn't mean it like that!" he huffs, looking up to draw on some unknown power to collect his thoughts. "I mean like… are you on Earth… uh, Earthland, for a reason? You know in movies they have some kinda… reason…"

She watches his face carefully. His ears are beginning to tinge red and he's looking everywhere but at her. Hmm… "It looks like you have a reason in mind."

"Well… Since you were talking about slaying monsters… I thought maybe you were undercover at uni because there were monsters in Magnolia to kill…"

Lucy can feel the smile slowly stretch across her face. It's such an innocent reason, and seemed entirely fitting for the funny and childlike man she'd gotten to know. "I was born and raised in Fiore. My mum taught me everything I knew about magic. As for the monsters… I've never actively sought any out. They just seem to find me."

"Find you? Huh. You're like a magnet!"

"Magnet for danger," she grumbles. "I'm not exactly a huge fan of fighting."

"What? But you're so good!" Natsu leans forward eagerly. "Your stance, posture, everything! It's obvious you're trained to fight."

"Capricorn trained me," she says, a little bashfully. "My father always thought fighting was unladylike, so I had Capricorn train me when he was busy at work so he wouldn't notice."

He offers her a lazy grin. "Well, all the training clearly paid off."

"How about you? You fight too?"

"Ah, well. No superpowers like you, but I've been doing martial arts since I was young."

"You don't need superpowers," she says, picking up her burger again. "Look at Batman! He has no superpowers but he kicks ass."

"He's also filthy rich," Natsu rolls his eyes. "Can't relate."

Lucy only offers a smile he can't quite place. They fall into an amicable silence, Natsu sipping on his milkshake while she finishes her burger. They're all the way at the back in a corner booth at the fast food restaurant—far away enough to hear each other properly, and in a loud enough environment that their conversation would be buried. The restaurant is on the outskirts of town, a short distance away from their campus, which is also right at the edge of Magnolia.

Natsu smiles when Lucy wipes her mouth with her serviette, eager to continue their conversation.

"So, I know you said you can summon Celestial Spirits by keys, right? Then what about when your clothes change? What's that?"

"Well… Celestial magic involves Spatial Magic. Manipulating space. That's how I can open doorways to the Celestial realm and let my Spirits through. In a similar vein, I can store things in pockets of Space, such as my Star Dresses. That's what happens when my clothes change. I get a share of my Spirit's powers, and it gives me a boost in battle, making me stronger, more durable, and whatever special powers the Spirit has. Recently, though, I've been working on channeling my Spirits' powers through me without changing form."

"How's that going?"

"It's okay," she hums. Looking around to make sure no one is paying them any attention, Lucy raises her fist. It begins to glow golden, like what he'd seen before on her foot. "For now, I can only properly channel Loke's combat power… Every other Spirit doesn't work as well. Theirs only gives me a tiny boost of their skill, but not necessarily anything that causes damage. But, I guess Loke's is good enough for emergencies."

Natsu nods along, processing her words in his mind. His eyes dart to the wall then back to her, then back to the wall again.

Lucy places her chin in her hand. "Okay, spit it out."

"Tell me about your first ever kill."

"Of course you'd be interested in that," she laughs. She draws in a breath then releases it. "Well, my first kill was when I was 16. I know, it was only 4 years ago, but I only left—" she seems to catch herself before she says something important, "—I moved out when I was 16, and pretty much bumped into my first creature immediately."

"Wow, that must've been freaky. And scary."

"Yeah, I was terrified," she shudders at the memory. "I thought I was going to die, but luckily instinct came first and I managed to pull my frozen mind together to summon a Spirit."

"That's a relief. So what did you kill?"

"Oh, yeah. My first kill was a—"

A deafening roar shudders through the air.

"— _minotaur_."

Lucy is out of her seat immediately, her key pouch attached to her hip. The people in the restaurant are looking at each other in a shock and fear.

"Lucy, wait!"

He follows her out the door. She's running in the direction of the forest.

The trees near the tree line are shaking violent, and Natsu swears he catches a glimpse of horns as he nears.

"DUCK!" Lucy screams. An entire uprooted tree comes flying, and Natsu presses himself to the road instinctively.

The tree flies and lands a short way behind him. It effectively blocks the path between the town at the forest. His mouth falls open as he glances at Lucy, who once again has that determined ferocity in her expression.

"Stay back!" she yells at him, before running straight into the forest.

"Damn it!" He can't just _leave_ her to fight some unknown monster!

Natsu grits his teeth and breaks through the tree line.

"Capricorn! Virgo!"

The gold circles fade to reveal a freakishly tall humanoid goat, and a girl with pink hair in a maid outfit and shackles around her wrist. And in the direction they're all facing…

…is a giant bull almost 3 metres tall, standing upright like a human. A minotaur, Lucy'd said.

"We can't let it break the tree line," Lucy commands. "Virgo, traps. Capricorn, you're with me!"

"Of course, Princess." Virgo tunnels into the ground and disappears.

"I would've thought you'd get Taurus to deal with this brute, Lady Lucy," Capricorn muses, his voice a soothing baritone.

Lucy snorts. "He'll get upset when he goes back and you guys tease him about bullfighting."

The corners of Capricorn's lips twitch upwards, then he lunges. Natsu watches in awe as Capricorn and the minotaur trade blows—or, more like, Capricorn throwing a flurry of fists that the minotaur is too slow to block. The goat continues to drive the bull back deeper into the forest and away from civilisation.

It's almost too easy. Capricorn is clearly the superior fighter, and he drives the minotaur backwards and backwards and backwards…

The ground gives way and the minotaur falls into a pit that traps him tight around his arms and ribcage. Virgo pops up from another hole behind him.

"Why are you here?" Lucy asks, glaring down at the growling monster. "Who opened the gates of Tartaros?"

Instead of replying, the minotaur lets out another loud roar. It bursts out of its trap in the ground. The shower of rock and dirt sends Lucy flying.

"Lucy!" Natsu yells, running towards her. He catches her body with his and they crash back onto the forest floor. Natsu groans at the impact, but luckily the pile of dead leaves cushion the blow.

Lucy pushes off him and stands immediately. "Why'd you do that?! I'm much more durable than you are!"

"Shit, Luce, your arm…"

Blood is running down her shoulder. She barely casts it a glance. "It's just a scrape."

Capricorn is once again busy with the minotaur that's escaped it's confines.

"I failed to capture the minotaur," Virgo says, materialising beside them. "Please punish me, Princess."

Lucy sighs heavily. "I'm not going to punish you! Now go help Capricorn!"

Virgo nods and disappears into the ground. Lucy offers a hand to help Natsu up and he takes it—

They both freeze.

Another roar sounds, followed by heavy footsteps. They both turn to see a different minotaur burst through the foliage. This one has much bigger horns, and its beady eyes scan the battlefield calculatively.

Horror flashes across Lucy's face.

"This is wrong. Minotaurs _never_ hunt in packs."

The new minotaur sniffs the air and shudders. It's eyes narrow and focus on the both of them.

Natsu barely has time to dodge before the minotaur is smashing its giant fists into the spot he had been standing at.

"Cancer form!" Lucy's outfit changes. She's wearing red robes that wrap around her body elegantly, and twin blades that she holds parallel to her forearms. She jumps and spins, using her momentum to slash the blades across the minotaur's body. The minotaur makes a grab at her but she uses his shoulders as a step, dodging while driving her sword into where her foot had been.

Natsu stares at Lucy fighting the monster for a moment, then jumps to his feet. He's not going to just stand there like a fool! Looking around, he spots a fallen log.

Without hesitation he picks it up and charges. Natsu slams the log against the back of the minotaur's knees. The log splinters immediately. The minotaur turns.

"Shit!"

He throws his body to the side as the minotaur's hands come crashing down again.

"It's much stronger than a human!" Lucy screams as she slashes at its back. "Don't get hit!"

"Got it!"

The minotaur seems to have its attention locked on Natsu. It charges after him with a focused rage, and all Natsu can really do is dodge, weaving in between trees and letting the minotaur tire itself out by smashing through them.

Out of nowhere Lucy descends, spinning as she slices a long line down its back. The minotaur roars in pain and fury. It reaches behind and grabs Lucy. She screams as she's tossed away, back colliding painfully with a tree.

"LUCY!"

His eyes fall on the sword Lucy'd dropped and he scrambles towards it.

Natsu's fingers barely brush it before the minotaur descends again.

 _Just a little more!_

His hands wraps around the handle and he spins, driving the sword straight into the minotaur's stomach.

Natsu stares up at the monster with wide eyes. It lets out a horrible choking sound, staggering backwards. Before it has the chance to react another sword is driven through its chest from behind. Natsu gasps.

The minotaur finally falls. It crashes to the ground, unmoving.

Lucy is standing behind it, panting hard. Her hair and clothes are a mess of leaves and dirt, and Natsu is in awe. She bends and pulls her swords out. They make a sick, wet sound.

She releases a harsh breath and makes eye contact with him. Lucy grins. "Nice job. Your first kill!"

Natsu stares at her for a beat longer. Then he laughs, loud and happy. She joins in with her own chuckles.

"Just make sure you aim for the middle of its chest next time," she limps towards him. "That's where the heart is."

He jumps up when he realises there's blood running down one leg. "Oh god, Lucy, are you okay?" He puts his arms around her, encouraging her to lean against him.

"I'm fine," she says, turning her leg around to look at the long cut. She must've gotten it when the minotaur tossed her aside. "Nothing's broken, so I'd count that as a win."

Virgo tunnels out. Her eyes run over Lucy's form. "It looks like your injuries are superficial, Princess."

Lucy nods. "Did you get him?"

"Yes, we've captured the minotaur alive."

They follow Virgo to where their initial battle had been, Natsu helping her as she limps. They see the first minotaur again with half of its body trapped underground, but this time there are chains holding his arms to the slide, secured in place with heavy boulders. Capricorn is standing to the side, near enough to react if the minotaur attempts to escape again.

"I'll ask you again," Lucy hisses when she nears. "What. Are. You. Doing. In. This. Realm?!"

The minotaur growls at them. One of its eyes is swollen shut and Natsu realises it's missing both horns. "The smell…" the minotaur speaks, its words mixed with animalistic growls. "Makes us _ravenous_."

Her brows furrow. "What smell?"

"The Celestial Maiden… and the… young dragon…" it sniffs the air like what the other minotaur had done, and bares its teeth. It tugs at its restraints.

"...Dragon?" Lucy breathes

"Weak… Human mixes…" it groans and struggles harder. "Easier hunt… But the taste!"

The minotaur roars and focuses its strength on one hand, pulling with all its might. The chain snaps.

Before the minotaur can break free Lucy rushes forward and stabs it through the middle of the chest. It releases a final groan before it dies.

Lucy pulls the sword out and steps back. Her chest heaves with every laboured breath.

"This is worrying, Lady Lucy," Capricorn comments, its eyes trained on the now-dead monster. "Perhaps it would be better to lay low for awhile."

"You heard him. My very being is drawing the monsters. I don't think laying low will work," she sighs.

"As fun as this discussion is, we really need to tend to your wounds, Luce."

"The young sir's words are right. Virgo and I will deal with the bodies. Please go nurse your injuries, Lady Lucy."

"My house is much nearer than your apartment," Natsu says, wrapping his arms around her and supporting her by shoulders. "Let's get you fixed up there."

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Will Happy be an Exceed? Uh, not sure about that yet. And yes... These two monsters were inspired by Percy Jackson... Yikes. This story will be relatively short (edit 21/11: not anymore...), just a little venture into a new world that I've always wanted to do :) Also with regards to Compucle's review, I hope I've addressed how Lucy had the Regulus even without changing into her Star Dress. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	3. third monster

"Do you, uh, wanna take a shower first? It'll be better to clean those wounds before we bandage them…" Natsu says, opening the door to his bedroom.

Lucy nods, hobbling on one foot towards the ensuite bathroom. Natsu dashes to his dresser, kicking some of the unsightly mess under his bed on the way. He's lucky Happy's hanging out with Gajeel's cat for the day, or his room would look much worse. He pulls out one of his baggy t-shirts and a fresh towel, then pauses.

"Oh, uh, I forgot you can just magic new clothes on."

"I'm a little drained right now," she chuckles, "I'd much rather wear normal clothes."

"Oh. Right. Well, here, they're totally clean, I promise."

Lucy smiles and nods, then slides into the bathroom and shuts the door.

He falls back into his bed and just stares at the ceiling. The sound of the shower is the only sound in the room. The adrenaline that had been burning through his body drains out in a rush, and he's left in a daze.

What had just happened?

They had gotten attacked by a monster _again_. Twice in the span of a week. And this time it wasn't just one, but two. Despite his loud and carefree personality Natsu had been _afraid_.

This same time last week he was probably daydreaming about how pretty Lucy is or trying to beat the next level of some video game, but now the very crush he had thought about was showering in his bathroom, and he had just killed an actual monster.

He releases his breath in a rush. 'Crazy' is probably the only word to describe it.

In the midst of his thinking he doesn't realise the shower water's stopped for awhile.

"Natsu?"

He jolts up from the bed, seeing the bathroom door open. Wisps of steam leave the gap in the door. Lucy steps out, clean of blood and dirt. The shirt he'd given her stops mid-thigh, and she's in the midst of wringing her long hair with the towel.

He swallows at the sight of her wearing his shirt and standing in his room. Heat floods his cheeks.

"Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Oh, yes!" Natsu clears his throat. He walks past her and into the bathroom to retrieve the kit. He gestures to his bed. "Sit here. I'll help you clean up."

Lucy hisses in pain when the antiseptic touches her skin. Natsu can't help but wince as well, thinking about how much it probably hurts.

"Sorry, Luce…"

"It's—" she grits her teeth at the automatic welling out of her eyes and breathes out through her nose. "It's fine."

Natsu dabs at her clean cuts carefully. He's never been the type to be delicate, but he's putting in as much concentration as he can to be gentle.

"...What did you think of the minotaur's words?"

He looks up at her in surprise. "You're asking me? You're the expert. I know jackshit about this whole thing."

Lucy sighs, eyes moving up to survey his ceiling. "I just don't get what he meant. He said there was a Celestial Maiden, which I assume is me, and a young dragon. But like I told you before, Dragons have isolated themselves to their own realms. And I haven't felt any dragon magic nearby at all."

"It said something about human mixes… Maybe the dragon is a human mix too."

"A half dragon?" she breathes a laugh at that, eyes wide in awe. "Is that even possible?"

"Why not?"

"Like I said, dragons think of humans as food. Would you mate with your food?"

Natsu's nose wrinkles unpleasantly. "Uh, please stop. You're putting disgusting images in my head."

Lucy laughs loudly, and Natsu finds himself chuckling along.

"Okay, that's the last one!" he tells her, standing to dig the first aid kit for bandages. He pulls them out triumphantly and earns a giggle from the mage. He bends down to work on her arm first. It's a nasty scrape that occured when she dragged her arm across a tree bark.

He quickly wraps the bandage around her arm, securing it snugly with the provided pins. Then, he squats to access the bigger, but luckily shallow slash down her leg. Repeating the same motion, he winds the gauze around her thigh then secures it.

"There! All done!"

He straightens up, a bright grin on his face. Lucy looks down to survey his handiwork. A smile stretches from cheek to cheek then dissolves into… giggles?

His face falls.

"This is… the ugliest bandage work… I've ever seen…" Lucy wheezes.

"Ugh… I tried, okay!" he throws his hands up in defeat.

Still giggling, Lucy grabs his wrist when he tries to move away. "Okay, _heh_ , I'm sorry," she smiles gently at him when he pouts. "Thank you, Natsu. For not leaving me when we fought the monsters and for patching me up."

His ears burn at her words, and he runs a hand through the back of his head. "It's nothing…"

The slam of the door draws both their attention.

"Natsu! I know you're home! I saw your beat-up car outside!" an older, deeper voice shouts. Natsu rolls his eyes.

"Uh, that's just my dad, Igneel…" he scratches the back of his head again. "But we should… probably go say hi before he barges in here and gets the wrong idea…"

Lucy rises to her feet and looks down at her state of dress. "Hmm… I think he'll get the wrong idea anyway."

Natsu winces but resigns to his fate. He opens the door, gesturing for her to follow behind him. "I'm here, dad!"

"There's blood on the floor! What mess did you get into this time?!"

"Oh shit," he looks at Lucy in a panic, but she just shrugs. He runs down the stairs and disappears out of her line of sight. Lucy walks down the stairs slowly, careful not to put too much pressure on her injured leg.

She grimaces when she spots a few drops of blood near the entrance of Natsu's home. And she'd been so careful to not drip anywhere…

"My friend had a bad fall, okay?! So I just brought her home to get cleaned up. It's not my fault this time!"

" _Her_?"

"That's not the point…"

Lucy approaches father and son, who are standing in the kitchen bickering. Natsu's dad is much taller and broader than he is, with flaming red hair on his head.

"Uh, hello, sir. I'm terribly sorry for intruding…" she begins.

Igneel turns to regard her and she can't hold back her gasp. _This feeling…_

There's a solemn look on Igneel's face when he sees her. His eyes are the same onyx at Natsu's but she feels exposed under his gaze—like it pierces her very being.

In the back of her mind she can feel her Spirits calling, no, _shouting_ at her. Warning her.

Her hands form into fists. She shifts her foot backwards into a fighting stance…

Then Igneel bursts into a boisterous laughter. She freezes. Igneel grin is warm and bright and directed at her.

"Hello, miss!" Igneel greets. "Don't worry, you're not intruding at all. In fact, I'm surprised you would even agree to let this idiot bring you home."

"I told you, Lucy's _injured_!"

"Oh, yes, yes," Igneel walks towards her, and she holds her breath in fear. His eyes sweep down her form. "Man, Natsu. You've done a horrible job of bandaging her up. But they'll hold."

Natsu lets out an indignant squawk, immediately firing off another round of retorts at his father. His father, however, is only staring at Lucy. In his eyes, she can tell, is recognition. He knows exactly who, or rather, _what_ she is.

"Natsu, why don't you go take a shower while I get Lucy some tea? You're not earning any points with those dirty clothes and that nasty smell."

The salmon-haired boy grumbles again, but turns to Lucy worriedly. "I don't have to shower right now."

Lucy takes a deep breath and pushes her Spirits' warnings aside. "No, go ahead. Tea will be great, Mr Dragneel."

"Just Igneel is fine," he waves a hand as he beings opening cupboards in search of the tea. "Hm, I swear Grandeeney left them here…"

Natsu looks between his dad and Lucy again. She smiles at him with a nod, and he leaves the kitchen. When the sound of his footsteps fade there's silence.

Her heartbeat quickens.

"Calm down," Igneel says, his voice much calmer and serious than before. "I can hear your heart going out of control."

The man walks forward with two steaming cups of tea, placing them on the counter. He gestures her forward.

"Take a seat. I promise I mean no harm."

Her feet are heavy but she forces them to move. She gingerly takes a seat on the barstool. His words run through her mind again, and she dares a glance up at him. Again, the onyx eyes are way too knowing for her liking.

"You must've smelt me from the moment you stepped into the house," Lucy notes.

"Even outside I could smell you. You were bleeding, after all," he takes a sip of the still-hot drink, but doesn't even flinch. "But yours wasn't the only scent. Tell me, how did you get your injuries?"

She gulps when his eyes narrow. "We… we fought minotaurs."

"Minotaurs? Plural?"

Lucy nods. "It was all wrong. I've never seen them hunt in packs before."

"You're certain they were hunting you?"

"Yes, it said—"

She pauses mid-sentence, realisation slashing through the sense of warmth and trust she'd been lulled into. Lucy glares at the man in front of him.

"No. Wait. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Making me warm and comfortable enough to talk?"

She glances around the room for any obvious sign of trickery, but spots none.

"Not on purpose, child. My warmth comes from my flames. It radiates even without me doing anything."

 _Flames_. "You… you're a…" she grits her teeth, the words not leaving her mouth easily. "You're a dragon, right?"

Igneel smiles. In that moment he looks centuries old. "That is correct."

"I never thought it was possible for dragons to take human forms…"

"There is much about dragons that remain a secret, Miss Heartfilia."

Dread floods her system. She stares at him in shock. "You know who I am?"

"I had my suspicions, but they were only confirmed when I had a good look at you," his eyes soften. "You are the spitting image of Layla."

"Mama…" Lucy lowers her head at the mention of her mother. "Were you guys… friends?"

The fire dragon nods, an ancient sadness in his eyes. "Layla was always a very dear friend of mine. Her death shook all the realms. She was way too young."

Lucy squeezes her eyes shut to prevent her tears from falling. There's no use being sentimental in front of Natsu's father. _Natsu_. She whips her head up at the thought of him, and how he's somehow in the center of this mess.

"He doesn't know," she realises.

Igneel grimaces, and she just about explodes.

"Natsu doesn't know?! I cannot believe you never told him! Do you know how much danger you've put him into by hiding his true identity? We were attacked by a fury just a few days ago, and now by minotaurs! And do you know what the monster said? It was our _smell_ that attracted them!"

At this, the expression on the old dragon's face turns very grave. "Your smell?"

"Yes! 'The Celestial Maiden and the young dragon.' Those were its exact words! Human mixes that are weak and easy to kill, but with special blood that makes us tastier!"

"But they should not have been able to scent his true nature," Igneel says. "I sealed his powers away for this very reason."

"Well evidently your seal isn't working very well," Lucy spits. "As a half-Celestial, I've been plagued by monsters ever since I left home. But I was prepared for the dangers. I trained for them my entire life. But Natsu? He knows _nothing_. When he found out what I was he asked me whether dragons existed! And now his life is in danger because creatures of Tartaros are hunting him—"

The sound of a door opening causes Lucy to freeze in her tirade. Igneel obviously notices as well, and he sends her a very pleading look. She can see the guilt in his expression. It halts her, and she forces herself to calm down.

"If he has the powers of a dragon," she lowers her voice, "he is more than capable to fight. Every day you keep his magic under lock is one day closer to getting him killed."

Lucy settles back down in her seat and reaches for the tea. She knows beyond doubt that Igneel could both hear and smell her agitation. Just as she swallows the hot tea and feels it swirl comfortingly in her stomach, Natsu comes barrelling into the kitchen.

Natsu stares at the scene in front of him, his father and Lucy both having tea quietly at the counter. He narrows his eyes. "What did you say to Lucy?"

Lucy looks at him with slight surprise, but Natsu is only focused on his dad.

Igneel rolls his eyes. "I said nothing, Natsu. Don't be so paranoid. Lucy and I are just having a nice cup of tea."

"If my dad said anything weird, just ignore him," Natsu tells her, coming to plop down on the barstool beside her. She can see that his pink hair is still wet, and he's wearing a muscle tee that cuts so deeply down his sides he might as well not be wearing a shirt at all. She doesn't hide the fact that her eyes focus on the abs visible through the side of his shirt.

When she looks back up he's kind of gaping at her. Her lips twitch into a small smile before she turns back to his father again.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Igneel," Lucy says, taking on a pleasant tone. They both know that their conversation is far from complete.

"Please, come over again anytime. It would do Natsu good to have some company apart from Gray and Gajeel."

"I have plenty of other friends, dad…"

"I would be glad to come by again, if Natsu would have me."

Natsu jerks at the attention that's suddenly on him. He scratches the back of his neck with a bashful grin. "Oh, uh, of course. Yeah, definitely."

"Well then I think I should get going. The sun's already set."

"Oh! I'll drive you," Natsu offers, already standing. "Just let me go grab my keys. And I'll grab your stuff in my room too."

The salmon-haired boy—no, half-dragon, she knows now, runs up the stairs again.

Lucy turns to Igneel. "We will have to continue this another day. I will be doing research on why so many creatures escaped Tartaros recently. And how that will affect mine and Natsu's lives. We can't spend every other day fighting monsters."

Igneel nods in stern agreement. "I, too, will do some snooping around."

"Luce! Ready to go?"

"Yup!"

She looks back and meets the old dragon's eyes. Dragon. Lucy shakes her head and focuses back to the front. This mess has gotten so much bigger.

⁑

⁑

"I was in a dragon's den," she breathes in disbelief. "A dragon's den, Plue!"

"Pun-puun!"

Lucy lifts a hand towards the night sky. The stars are shining as bright as they are out of reach. Next to her, an old Spirit floats in a cross legged position, snoozing. He has a cross for a face and a white moustache. Crux, the Southern Cross.

Crux is a Spirit capable of searching through millennia worth of information while asleep, and Lucy had hoped he would be able to shed some light on the strange situation.

"Dragons sure are something, aren't they?" she says to Plue.

"It appears our worry was for naught," a deeper voice replies. Lucy turns her head in surprise, only to see Loke sitting beside her on her apartment floor. "You're lucky you met a friendly dragon."

"Did you come out on your own again," Lucy deadpans, knowing she hadn't summoned him.

Loke just shrugs with a infuriating smirk. "My, my, beautiful. Who would have thought that you'd walk out of one monster's lair, only to fall right into that of a bigger, scarier one!"

"Father… isn't a monster," Lucy sighs, ignoring Loke's scoff. "He's just lonely… and misguided."

"That's no excuse you treat you like a burden instead of a daughter. He even forbade your connection to the stars—to us! I cannot forgive that."

"But none of you left me," she smiles, a hand covering the pouch containing her keys.

"We gave our lives to you, Lucy. Of course we would stay."

Lucy's smile widens and she nods.

Crux takes this opportune moment to wake up, and immediately all their attention is directed to him. "It appears the realm of the Underworld is experiencing troubling disturbances," the Spirit speaks slowly, his voice betraying his old age. "The gates of Tartaros is filled with holes. Many a creature are making the journey to Earthland."

She frowns. "Holes?"

"Yes. Something is slowly breaking down Tartaros' gates. The creatures are squeezing through the gaps, venturing to different realms to feast."

"To feast? Surely they have enough food down in the Underworld…"

"Monsters of Tartaros are driven by savage instinct, Miss Lucy," Crux says, his old voice wavering. "Their insatiable hunger brings them to search for new, more satisfying forms of sustenance."

"So they want to eat."

"It is fact amongst those creatures who hunt that the blood of the Lights and the blood of the Ancients is the greatest delicacy of them all. But no fool would be so brave as to attempt to kill a Celestial or a dragon."

"Weak human mixes make an easier hunt…" she whispers, dread freezing the blood in her veins.

"When a maiden and a dragon meet, their power grows stronger. And as power courses through blood it becomes an olfactory sensation for the hunting beasts."

"So whenever Natsu and I are together… our smells mix?"

Crux nods. "Your power grows stronger, and so do the scents that attract the hell-kind."

Lucy drops her head and released a shaky breath. "Okay, so if we smell good when we're together, we just have to be apart, right?"

It makes her sad to think that she wouldn't be able to be even friends with the pink-haired boy. He's funny, trustworthy, and brave, and she really would've liked to get to know him better.

"I'm sure he'd like to get to know you better, too," Loke's teasing voice reaches her ears. She belatedly realises she'd said that last part out loud.

Lucy glares at him. "Shut up. I didn't even invite you here."

"I'm afraid it is not that simple, Miss Lucy," Crux interrupts. Their attention is immediately back on the old Spirit. "Scents linger. And you have been in the dragon's den, and the dragon in yours."

"He's right," Loke sighs. "Even _I_ can smell the both of you, and I'm just a lion Spirit. Imagine what the beasts can smell?"

"There is only moving forward now, Miss Lucy. You cannot retrace your steps."

⁑

⁑

Leaning her cheek on the cold table, Lucy heaves a long sigh. She'd barely gotten any sleep last night because she had been so shaken by Crux's words. Her hands dangle limply at her sides. Maybe she should just take a nap before her next class…

"The table's pretty nasty, you know."

Her eyes flutter open to meet pair of mischievous onyx ones. Natsu has his head in the same position as hers, cheek pressed to the table facing her.

"You're doing it too," she grumbles.

Natsu grins, then straightens, prompting her to do the same. Lucy rubs her cheek roughly with a hand and Natsu's grin only widens. She wonders if its she's grasping at straws or if his canines are unnaturally sharp.

Her eyes finally move to take in the rest of him. He's wearing a jacket with a popped collar over a pink t-shirt and jeans, but her gaze stops on his soft white muffler. She vaguely remembers it always being on his person. Unconsciously, her hand is reaching out. When her fingers brush the material she gasps.

"I've had it since I was born," Natsu is saying. She glances up at his sheepish expression briefly. "My dad said I had to wear it everywhere or he'd kill me," he laughs. "I would've anyway, because it's a gift from him."

Lucy hums in acknowledgement but her hands are grabbing fistfuls of the material. The way it shimmers in the light…

"The scarf is really soft. It must've been expensive."

Natsu shrugs. "He said he made it himself. Tch, like I believe him. I've never seen him pick up anything resembling a needle. He probably bought it at some ancient shop that doesn't exist anymore."

"Did he… ever say what material it's made of?"

Peering down at his scarf, Natsu shakes his head. "I mean, it's probably cotton or something. I think he might've cut off the label so I'm not sure…"

That only furthers Lucy's suspicions. Her hands run over the smooth fabric one more time and she closes her eyes.

Nothing.

It seals Natsu's magic, Lucy realises. It completely smothers the magical power within him and makes him undetectable as anything other than human. A scarf made of dragon scales. The perfect magic seal.

"Luce… you okay?"

Her eyes fly open. Oh, right. It's getting weird. She smiles and drops her hand. "Yeah! Totally fine. It's just nice that you have something from your dad that you treasure so much. My dad never really cared about me."

Natsu's face falls. "Oh…"

She waves her hand nonchalantly. "Things of the past. I don't even think about him much anymore."

"That's good," he says. "So… uh… what were you doing here? You looked really worn out." His eyes run over her figure, and she can see them linger on the areas she'd been injured. She had worn long pants and a nice sweater to cover the healing scrapes. "How are your injuries?"

"Hm? Oh, they're fine. I heal fast. The skin will be as good as new by tomorrow."

"That's awesome!" he grins toothily, but then he seems to hesitate. "So… if it isn't the injuries, what's up?"

Lucy looks at him for a moment, taking in the ever-genuine dark eyes and the curious tilt of his head. He really didn't deserve having his identity kept a secret from him, but she's too afraid of betraying a true dragon to tell him.

She sighs. "I found out why I'm being attacked."

Immediately there's a worried frown between his brows and he shifts closer. "What is it?"

"In the realm of the Underworld, there is a place called Tartaros, a place where the most murderous and violent creatures live. A place like that has, of course, a barrier around it. A gate, we call it, to keep them out from other realms. But sometimes these gates open, either by permission or because they're weakened, and creatures slip out. Which is why I used to get attacked once in a blue moon.

"This time, though, it's not just one opening, but multiple holes. Holes are appearing in the gates of Tartaros, and these beasts are forcing themselves through these gaps and into other realms. One of which happens to be Earthland. Years of staying in the same place must make them hunger for other species as food, and you heard the minotaur. Celestials are apparently especially delicious. Their noses lead them straight to me."

Natsu's expression hardens. "What can I do to help?"

Surprise flickers across Lucy's expression. _Stay away_ , she's tempted to say, but Crux had shot that idea down the moment it left her mouth. _Get your dragon dad to unlock your powers, maybe._

Instead, she shrugs. "We'll just have to be on alert, I guess."

"I know I'm probably a pathetic human compared to you," Natsu says determinedly (she's very tempted to correct him). "But you saved my life twice now, and I'm not gonna let you fight on your own. I'll carry a baseball bat around if I have to!"

Lucy laughs, Natsu's words igniting a flame of affection and happiness in her chest. "You really are something, Natsu."

The half-dragon only rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. His ears tinge red in embarrassment..

"Now, let's forget about the monsters. How about we hang out just for fun?"

⁑

⁑

"Oh, Lucy, you are going _down_."

"Ha! We'll see about that!"

 _READY, SET…_

 _FIGHT!_

Immediately Natsu and Lucy smash their hands down on the console, fingers flying across the buttons as another hand jerks the joysticks roughly. Their gazes are focused on their one single objective—defeat the other at Street Fighter.

"Hadouken!" Natsu shouts as he fires the move. On screen, his character Ryu releases a surge of energy that hits Lucy's character straight on. "Hadouken! Hadouken!"

Lucy grits her teeth. "Oh no you don't!" she jerks her joystick to the left where Natsu is and jabs the buttons repeatedly. Chun Li lets loose a flurry of kicks that forces Ryu backwards.

The pattern continues to repeat, both of their characters jumping and flying over each other as they release their signature moves.

"Sorry, Luce," Natsu grins. His fingers fly over the buttons in a memorised pattern. "Hurricane Kick!"

Lucy's jaw drops as she watches her character get K.O.-ed. She glares at Natsu. "Do you _have_ to say every move you do?"

Natsu shrugs with a smirk. "Clearly it's the habit of a _winner_. Maybe you should adopt that sometime."

Her shock only increases. She's getting trashed talked by _Natsu_?! Lucy huffs. "Why don't you try those moves in real life?"

"I may not have any special powers, but I did tell you I have martial arts training," he drawls, rolling his shoulders backwards. They make his muscles ripple in a _very_ nice way. "You sure you can take me in a fight?"

She tilts her chin up defiantly. "Come at me and find out."

He leans closer to her. There's a sudden confidence in him that she hasn't seen before, a result of the competitive streak Lucy had ignited in him.

Natsu grins, and the dangerous way his canines flash has her breath hitching. "You're playing with fire, Lucy."

Her eyes widen, then his words register and she moves away, laughing. He has no idea how correct he is. Lucy stands to head to the next game in the arcade.

"Hey! Are you laughing at me?!" she hears Natsu call indignantly. "Come back and let's fight!"

"Maybe next time," Lucy says, _when you unlock your powers_. She turns and puts a hand on her hip. "Now, as much as versusing you is fun, let's get down to business."

"Business?"

The smirk Lucy offers is nothing short of evil. "Let's run them to the ground. Between you and me, I'm sure we can sweep all those prizes."

"Wow, you're scary."

"It's you and me against the world!" she pumps her fist excitedly.

Natsu cackles loudly. "I'm all fired up!"

⁑

⁑

They made true to their word to empty the arcade.

Lucy would admit that she cheated just a little bit. She channeled Sagittarius the Archer's accuracy during games that required aim, and Taurus' power on games that measured pure strength. Natsu merely grinned when he saw her hands flash gold for a moment before they got into the game.

The poor part-timer attending to the prize redemption booth looked like he was about to cry at the mountain of tickets they had dumped onto the counter. In response Natsu and Lucy only hi-fived each other.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," Natsu laughs as he stretches. They walk out of the arcade with bags full of toys and the biggest smile on their faces.

"I doubt you could ever, Natsu," Lucy chuckles.

"Hey, wait."

She stops in her tracks, looking at him curiously. Natsu sets the bags down and begins digging into one of them. He triumphantly pulls out what he finds.

A thin red band with a small dragon charm on it.

Natsu turns to her with his signature toothy grin. He holds out a hand, and Lucy lifts hers instinctively. Natsu gently takes her hands in his and slides the bracelet onto it. Her heart stutters.

"Something to remind me of you," he says bashfully.

Lucy smiles widely. "I love it, thank you!"

She drops her bags and throws her arms around his neck and pulls him closer for a hug. She can feel his warm arms circle around her waist and she closes her eyes to savour the feeling.

Natsu chuckles, the sound reverberating through her body. "If I knew you would react like this, I wouldn't gotten you gifts much sooner."

Lucy pulls away with a cheeky twist to her lips. "Why? So you can cop a feel?"

The way Natsu's eyes widen is absolutely hilarious. He lets go of her immediately. "No! No way! I'm not that kinda guy."

Giggling, Lucy bends to pick up her bags. "I'm just messing with you," she tells him, and he heaves a relieved sigh. "Although… I wouldn't be opposed to hugging you. Even without the gifts."

She shoots him a wink that has him stunned. Still laughing, Lucy continues to walk forward, hearing him scramble to catch up.

"Luce," Natsu calls when he finally falls in step with her. She turns to him and sees that he looks apologetic. "I kinda have class soon, so I have to go…."

"Sure! It's getting late, I should be heading back too."

"I'll drive you home."

"Oh, you don't have to. My apartment's just a short walk away," she says, pointing in the general direction of her home.

A frown settles between his pretty brows. "You sure?"

"Absolutely. Go, go, don't be late for class."

Natsu nods and makes a move to leave, but turns around at the last moment. He looks determined. "The next time we hang out… I'm hoping it could be a date."

The expression in Lucy's eyes is unreadable. After what feels like an eternity of agony for Natsu, she grins. "I would love that."

Natsu's own smile is so wide he feels like his cheeks are starting to hurt. A date! He scored a date with the prettiest girl on campus, who also happens to be a powerful mage. There's no way his love life could get any better.

"Great! I'll text you!" he waves enthusiastically, practically skipping away

Lucy watches until he disappears around the street corner, then turns to walk down the street.

 _A date, huh?_ She giggles to herself. _A date with a dragon._

* * *

 **A/N:** Some explanations, and progress in the relationship! :) Just wanna clarify though, while some of the monsters _are_ inspired by Greek mythology, this story isn't really focused on that. There'll be other monsters from different folklores or just random ones from other shows. Thank you to everyone who's faved, followed, or reviewed, and hi to new readers! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter~ Next one will come in a week's time.


	4. fourth monster

**Natsu:** all dragons breathe fire

 **Natsu:** true or false?

 **Lucy:** Definitely false. Different dragons have different powers. Fire, water, air, earth, even iron, if I remember correctly.

 **Natsu:** wtf that's awesome

 **Natsu:** if i was a dragon i'd totally be a fire dragon

 **Lucy:** Very fitting for your hothead

 **Natsu:** HEY

 **Natsu:** [image]

 **Lucy:** I'm just kidding

 **Lucy:** Aw, you look so cute when you're angry

 **Natsu:** um no i'm not supposed to be cute i'm angry!

 **Natsu:** also you are cute enough for the both of us

 **Lucy:** Thank you ;)

 **Lucy:** Here's a true dragon fact. I did the research for a dragon-obsessed boy I know.

 **Natsu:** i think he's honoured

 **Lucy:** Good

 **Lucy:** Anyway, dragons eat their own element to gain power and heal themselves.

 **Natsu:** their own element?

 **Natsu:** so like a fire dragon would eat fire?

 **Lucy:** And a water dragon would eat, or I guess drink, water.

 **Natsu:** psh, that's so lame. Fire dragons EAT FIRE luce

 **Natsu:** maybe i should try eating fire one day…

 **Lucy:** Please don't

 **Lucy:** I really prefer you alive than dead

 **Natsu:** sigh fine

 **Natsu:** i won't

 **Natsu:** i'll keep myself alive since you like me so much

 **Lucy:** I do :)

 **Natsu:** holy shit

 **Natsu:** i think i might have a heart attack

 **Lucy:** You're such a dork

 **Lucy:** I'm very excited for our date tomorrow

 **Natsu:** me too!

⁑

⁑

"How much farther do we have to go?"

"Come on, Luce. You can fight giant monsters but you're gonna be defeated by a tiny hill?"

Lucy rolls her eyes and hides her grin by biting her lip.

Natsu had brought her to a nice little diner called 8-Island, run by a tiny man called Yajima that Natsu seemed familiar with. It was cosy, warm and inviting, and their milkshakes were phenomenal. After a really enjoyable dinner trading stories about their childhoods—he managed to make her laugh throughout with the shenanigans he'd gotten up to as a child—Natsu had told her there was one more place he absolutely _had_ to bring her.

And that's a hill, evidently.

"We're here!"

She takes his outstretched hand that's oh so warm, and pulls herself up the last incline to the summit. Natsu grins at her and looks to the sky. She follows his gaze.

The _stars_.

Her breath leaves her in a gasp. The dark blue of the sky is peppered with thousands of stars, each glowing softly and surely. It looks like someone had woven the night with the very fabric of the universe. The celestial objects call out to her, singing her name in their unique song, sending power coursing through her veins. Her eyes shine as they reflect the magic of life itself. This is where she's home.

"Natsu… This… This is…"

His eyes are soft, now, an almost dazed look in his eyes as he registers the wonder on her face. "You summon constellations, right? I thought you might enjoy some stargazing."

"Enjoy?" she breathes, eyes locked onto the patterns she can identify on the infinite canvas in front of her. "The stars are everything to me."

When she finally looks back down at him he's spread out a blanket on the grass. He plops down and immediately lays on his back. Without hesitation, she joins him, carefully smoothing out her short skirt then gingerly leaning back.

"Then I'm glad I made the right choice." Natsu's voice sounds deeper than usual, and it sends a shiver down her spine. Lucy reaches out and slips her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. She hears his breath hitch but he tightens his hold.

"Even being here, with the stars shining down on me, I can feel my power grow," she whispers. She channels the golden light within her and projects it towards where she's holding Natsu's hand.

"Whoa…" Natsu's eyes widen at the surge of tingling energy that enters his body. For a moment it feels like every one of his senses are _alive_.

He can taste the air on his tongue, hear muffled conversations from miles away, smell the scent of bread from that bakery all the way down the hill.

As quickly as the rush begins, it fades.

"Is that how you feel all the time?" he asks her, wide-eyed. "Like you can feel _everything_?"

"Feel everything?"

"Yeah it's like… All my senses were multiplied to infinity! I thought I could hear old Yajima's voice! But that doesn't make sense because the restaurant is _miles_ away."

Realisation hits her like a slap to the face. By channeling her power into him she had, for a short moment, refuelled him enough to bring out his inner dragon. The sharpened senses were the first dragon ability to be unlocked.

"My senses are only sharper than a human's when I'm in combat," she says instead, gears turning in her head as she thinks about what might happen if she forced more power into his body. "When I wear my Star Dresses, especially. But I guess my training has helped me hone my sensitivity… Hey. Let's try that again."

It's probably a bad idea, the rational part of her mind tells her. Igneel might kill her if she accidentally unlocks Natsu's powers or something.

Unsurprisingly, Natsu is entirely eager. He shifts closer to her, turning so he's lying on his side. She takes a deep breath and concentrates again.

This time Natsu is prepared for the onslaught. The feeling is akin to when his ears pop after coming down from an airplane, only with all his other senses. It's like everything was muffled before but made so clear, now.

She watches his reaction carefully. He opens his eyes and she can see the amazement in them as he looks around, probably able to see a finer level of detail than he had ever experienced before. Slowly, she increases the amount of energy she's channeling into his body…

Nothing.

It doesn't seem like anything other than enhanced senses have been triggered.

Her brows pinch in puzzlement and she runs her eyes over his body. _The scarf! Of course!_ It must truly be working overtime to keep a lid on the increased level of magic.

Regretfully, she lets her glow subside.

"That was… so cool!" Natsu laughs, throwing his head back. "Wow. I've never felt anything like it. Can you do it for me all the time?"

"You wish," she pokes his forehead with a finger. "It'll drain me to keep channeling my magic into you. I think I'm only able to do that now because I'm directly receiving power from the stars."

"Like using your phone while it's charging?"

She stares at him incredulously, then bursts into laughter. "As strange as it is… it's kind of a fitting analogy."

Natsu just grins and squeezes her hand. They lie in silence for a while, gazing up at the stars together.

"Which one's your horoscope, Luce?"

"That one. Cancer. See? You connect the dots like this… One line down, branching into two more…"

"Huh. That's kinda cool. What others constellations are there?"

"Well, that's Gemini… and that's the Canis Minor."

"...that looks nothing like Plue."

"You remember Plue's constellation?!"

"Of course! As if I'd forget anything you tell me."

"That's… very sweet, thank you."

Natsu squeezes her hand again in response. Lucy closes her eyes, drawing in a breath of the fresh air and letting the weight of the stars settle over her like a warm blanket. She thinks she can get used to this, lying here, with Natsu's hand in hers. It's almost easy to forget that they're being hu—

"HELP!"

Lucy jerks upright immediately. Her eyes are wide as she looks around the darkness, squinting to find the source of the sound. Beside her, Natsu is also on alert. She looks at him. "You heard that, right?"

"I think it came from the forest," he gulps.

She groans. "The forest. Of course."

"Help me! Help!"

Lucy is on her feet in the next second, running in the direction of the shout. She knows Natsu is following behind her.

With a wave of her hand her whip materialises. They stop at the edge of the trees.

"Hello? Who's there?" Lucy calls out.

"Oh my god! Please, help me!" a distinctly female voice yells in reply.

"Sounds like a normal person," Natsu whispers.

Lucy nods but doesn't let her guard down. They venture into the forest carefully. It's so dark she can barely see in front of her. Lucy channels Leo's magic through her, taking advantage of the lion's extraordinary night vision to boost her own.

"Where are you?"

"Over here! Please!"

A hunched, cloaked figure comes into view, huddling in a ball on the forest floor. Natsu pushes past her and towards the woman.

"Are you okay?"

"Natsu, wait—"

With a horrifying screech the woman lunges at Natsu. He falls back with a pained yell. Long claws dart out from the cloak and scratch down Natsu's top, digging welts into his tan skin.

It all happens in a matter of seconds.

Lucy reacts. She snaps her whip forward to wrap around the creature and tugs it back forcefully. It falls on its back and she gets a good look at the deformed face.

"A wendigo?!" she breathes in disbelief.

The wendigo bares its sharp, yellow teeth at her. She can see the sinewy skin stretched over its bones. A cannibal to the point of no return.

 _Bang!_

Lucy's eyes widen in surprise as the wendigo jerks. A bullet pierced through its body and its blood spurts.

She turns her head to see an unfamiliar man, completely human and with eyes wide in fear. He's holding a revolver in his hand and an unlit cigarette dangles from his lips.

"Are you guys okay?! I saw that… that _thing_ attack the guy!"

"Sir, you need to run away, right now—"

The wendigo attacks. It dashes at the man with its inhuman speed and grabs the man, charging them through the trees and out of sight.

"Sagittarius! Loke!"

Her Spirits materialise by her side. She turns to them urgently. "Go after the wendigo! Don't let him kill the—"

A loud, gurgling scream sounds.

"Hurry!"

Her Spirits run in the direction she points at, and Lucy dashes to Natsu, her knees skidding on the soil as she drops down beside him.

Immediately she pulls her shirt over her head and presses it to the bleeding wound.

"Not… the way I imagined… you taking your shirt off… to go…" Natsu jokes, despite the sweat dripping down his face at the pain.

"Shut up! Just hang on," she growls at him, pushing harder against the wound. He hisses in pain.

"Shit," Natsu curses. "Sorry… You're saving me again. I should've been more careful."

"Wendigos can imitate human voices. I was fooled too."

Movement behind her causes her to turn, but it's only her Spirits, both of whom have grave expressions. "We were too late," the horse spirit neighs.

Lucy sighs. "That's okay. But we have to kill it before it eats more humans."

Rustling in the trees makes them all look up. With her enhanced senses she vaguely makes out the wendigo darting through the treetops.

"Loke," she calls. Immediately the lion spirit is putting his own hands against Natsu's wound.

Lucy stands and changes form.

A green twin tail coat wraps around her but leaves her shoulders bare. The sleeves and thigh-high boots materialise over her skin and she feels Sagittarius' symbol burn into her left shoulder.

The wood of the Celestial bow is comforting in her hand when she raises it. Powerfully, she fires her arrows into the trees. Sagittarius follows her lead.

The wendigo is frustratingly fast, but Sagittarius never misses.

She knows they've nicked it multiple times, probably even embedded some arrows in its pale grey skin, but it isn't even phased.

"Wendigos are only weak to fire, Lucy!" Loke shouts.

"I know that!" she yells back in annoyance. She doesn't _have_ any fire Spirits. There's no one she can summon with the ability to spit… fire…

Her eyes land on Natsu form, bleeding on the forest floor. She shakes her head. No, she shouldn't.

Lucy shifts her attention back to the trees. The wendigo is moving away.

Muttering a curse, she begins to run, trying to keep up with the creature as it darts through the treetops. Her clothing morphs again into her Cancer form—it offers her the greatest speed.

On her way she passes the body of the man that had tried to help her. She skids to a stop.

 _Fire. The man had been smoking._

Muttering an apology, she rifles through the man's pockets and tries her best not to look at the empty space his head is meant to be. As she expects, she finds a lighter.

She barely closes her hands around it when a screech demands her attention. Lucy rolls out of the way when the wendigo descends, growling loudly.

Despite knowing her blades would barely wound it, Lucy strikes, hoping it would be distracted enough for her to use the lighter. The wendigo fights her blow for blow, a savage sneer on its face as it parries her blades with its claws. A single claw slashes a shallow line across her arm and she hisses in pain.

Arrows come flying when Lucy spins away for a short moment. The wendigo shrieks, throwing its hands up to shield itself from Sagittarius' assault.

Lucy takes the opportunity to morph back into her Sagittarius form. She lights her arrow on fire.

The effect is instantaneous. The wendigo screams and backs away from the blaze, jumping into the trees.

She will not let it get away.

Lucy closes an eye and pulls her shooting arm backwards. Her other arm follows the wendigo. It darts through the trees. She aims. And,

Fire _._

The arrow meets its mark.

The wendigo screams in pain as it falls from the trees, its entire body alight with flames. Lucy breathes a sigh of relief—

A roar of agony tears through the night.

Lucy straightens immediately. _Loke._

"Sagittarius, watch him!" Lucy shouts her order, already sprinting back to where she had left Loke and Natsu.

She reaches in time to watch Loke fade away, 5 gaping holes in the middle of his chest. Behind Loke stands a wendigo, its claw in the position where it had stabbed Loke.

"Sorry… Lucy…" Loke gasps as he disappears.

"LOKE!"

In the moment of distraction something smashes the wendigo in the head. Wood splinters and Lucy feels a sense of déjà vu.

Natsu has forced himself into a standing position, a hand clutching her shirt to his injured chest. He sways unsteadily on his feet. The remains of his makeshift weapon drop from his fingers.

Rage flares through Lucy. She lights her arrow again and fires without mercy.

Natsu flinches away when the monster bursts into flames.

More shrieks sound. _Oh no._ There's an entire pack of wendigoes lingering in the forest. They're trapping Natsu and Lucy, slowly coming closer. In the back of her mind she realises Sagittarius' time is up, and he goes back to the Celestial World with an apology.

Her eyes run across the trees, trying to make out the figures walking towards them. The wendigos seem to be watching. Waiting. _Teasing_ their cornered prey.

Lucy pants harshly. She's almost out of magic power. With summoning two powerful Spirits, changing her Star Dress multiple times, and Loke's defeat, she know she'll be drained if she keeps it up.

"Can you run?" she whispers to Natsu. He grits his teeth and nods.

She opens the lighter cap again. The flame burns brightly and the wendigos hiss angrily at their weakness. Slowly, Lucy bends, as if to pick up a fallen branch…

The lighter falls from her hands.

Immediately an inferno bursts, the dry leaves on the forest floor burning brightly. The nearby trees catch fire quickly and leave a blazing wall of fire. The wendigos flinch backwards while screeching in fear. Lucy turns around and grabs Natsu's arm. "Run!"

They run.

The wendigos will catch up soon, she knows. They are exceptional hunters. Especially in their element at night. With the intelligence of a human, it won't be long before they figure to go around the fire and take to the treetops in pursuit of their prey.

She needs more. More firepower.

Her eyes dart to Natsu's injured, heaving form. He's forcing himself to run despite his grievous injuries.

They're not going to last.

Her eyes fall to the dirty, blood-stained scarf that's still stubbornly wrapped around his neck. Her mind wanders back to a past conversation:

" _There has only been one recorded instance of a dragon-human mix,"_ _Crux had said. "A warrior who strikes fear with the mere mention of his name. The half-dragon Acnologia. He existed 400 years ago."_

" _Hmm… Do half-dragons get the powers of their dragon parents?"_

" _Yes, it appears that half dragons have the ability to transform, harnessing magic in the element of their parent. That is what makes them powerful."_

" _So Natsu's magic seal must be preventing his transformation…"_

" _That would be the logical conclusion."_

Her eyes stay locked on the scarf.

She _has_ to.

Before she can regret it Lucy rips it off his body. The only reaction is Natsu's puzzled shock. Her eyes widen. Nothing's happening!

"Luce, what—"

She grabs his hand to channel power to him like what she did at the clearing. The golden light spreads from her palms and under his skin.

"Come on, come on…"

Natsu draws in a shuddering breath. His pupils constrict—

—and he dives at her, forcing her down to the forest floor. Behind his shoulder a wendigo is mid-lunge, falling to the position they had just been in.

Lucy looks up at Natsu. His nostrils flare and his ears twitch. He turns and smashes his forearm into another attacking wendigo. Natsu screams in pain at the contact.

 _What? But he's supposed to be stronger than the wendigos…_

The only noticeable difference is the enhanced senses, but he's not sprouting flames like she expected.

A bony hand wraps around her throat.

 _Shit!_

Her eyes flick up to the enemy. A wendigo has its claw around her neck. In its other hand it's holding a flaming branch.

The wendigo sneers. "You thought you were ssssso ssss…mart…!"

In her peripheral vision she can see Natsu struggling against the inhumanly strong hold of another wendigo.

"How ssshould we eat you…? Maybe tear from limb… to limb…!"

She turns her head to look at Natsu. _Why?! Why isn't he changing?! The seal…_

Lucy's fist clenches around the dragon scale scarf in her hand.

The scarf isn't the seal.

Her eyes cut to the lit branch in the wendigo's hand.

 _Dragons eat their element to gain strength and heal._

Lucy squeezes her eyes shut and shoves her hand into her key pouch. _Please, just one more!_

"Open, gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

"MOO!"

In an instant the wendigo is thrown off of her. Her blurry vision registers the reliable and strong form of her very own minotaur, Taurus, swinging his giant axe at the enemies.

The wendigo drops the branch it was holding.

Lucy jolts upwards. The rough bark scratches against her palm. Her fingers close. _Yes!_

She crawls over to Natsu in a hurry. He groans in pain when she places a hand on her shoulder.

"Good, you're still conscious."

He opens his eyes. A feverish squint.

"Sorry, but I really hope this works!"

Lucy grips the sides of his jaw. Forces his mouth open.

And shoves the fire into his mouth.

Natsu jerks violently. His lips close around the flame—

 _Orange._

Brilliant, wild, orange.

Her back smacks painfully against a tree trunk but she barely registers it. In her brown irises the raging fire in front of her dances.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Taurus is at her side. She pats the hand on her arm blindly, focused on the sight in front of her.

A ring of fire surrounds a slowly standing figure.

Her breath hitches.

Long red horns amidst unruly pink hair. Hands and feet turned into claws. _Wings_ sprouting, extending, the thin membrane stretching outwards.

A relieved laugh bursts from her lips.

Natsu _dragonised_.

"Natsu!" she yells. Red eyes snap to her. "Kill them with fire!"

He doesn't need to be told twice.

Natsu shoots up into the tree tops and catches the escaping wendigos. Fire bursts from his claws and every touch burns the monsters alive. He turns and fire bursts forth from his open mouth, a devastating breath attack that torches the foliage.

"We can't let him fight alone!" Lucy says, taking Taurus' outstretched hand. "Taurus, absorb his flames with your axe!"

A exhilarated smirk stretches across her face. Her clothes change into her Taurus form and she cracks her whip.

"Let's go monster hunting."

* * *

 **A/N:** the stargazing scene is inspired by dragon cry, when natsu is an absolute babe and makes lucy climb to the treetops bc she wanted to see the stars! so cute. also, uh, dragon!natsu?


	5. fifth monster

The forest is on fire.

There's really no way to sugarcoat this. Natsu pants, looking around at the damage.

He… did this?

He had been operating on 100% instinct, but now that it's all over…

Natsu pats his side, where he distinctly remembered being gauged by the wendigo. Strangely, it's all healed up. When he looks down he gets distracted by his hands—no, _claws_?! What is he? What did Lucy do to him?

"Natsu!"

He turns to see Lucy running up to him. His eyes unwittingly widen at her clothing, or lack thereof.

She has some kind of bikini top with cow prints and her pants that are long on one leg and short on another. Whatever he had wanted to ask her dies on his tongue.

"I think we got every last one of them," she tells him, looking around. "Now we just gotta deal with this fire… Can you eat the flames?"

"Eat the… _what?_ "

"The flames! I fed you fire the first time, remember?"

Vaguely recalling the heat exploding in his mouth, he nods. She gives him an expectant look, and his mind finally catches up. He blanches. "I can't eat my own flames!"

She frowns. "How do you know that?"

Right. How did he? His brows pinch and he watches the raging fire. They dance happily when he looks at them. "I just… know."

When he looks up again a wave of dizziness hits him. Arms are around him immediately, holding him up.

"Damn, you're really hot."

His lips twitch up into a lazy smirk and Lucy rolls her eyes.

"Haha, hilarious. But really, we need to put out the fire before it burns the entire forest down!"

It might be a little too late for that, Natsu wants to comment, looking at the raging inferno.

"Maybe I can be of assistance."

That voice…

"Dad?"

Igneel walks out from between the trees, completely unphased by the fire. His father's gaze is almost… apologetic.

"You did well, Natsu," Igneel praises, his voice calm and serious. "Now let me do the work."

Igneel opens his mouth wide and… _sucks_?

The flames flow into Igneel's like liquid, and the fire surrounding them is rapidly diminishing. Natsu's jaw drops.

His head _hurts._

His brain can barely comprehend what is happening. Another wave of dizziness hits him. Everything is becoming darker.

"Natsu? Natsu!"

The last thing he remembers is the worry in Lucy's brown eyes.

⁑

⁑

Waking up is easy. He feels refreshed and well rested, like he's had the best sleep in his life, and there's a comforting warmth that seems to circulate throughout his body.

A smile slides across his face and he stretches on his soft sheets.

Man, he had the weirdest dream. He transformed into some kind of reptile, and Igneel was eating fire and everything.

Natsu lifts his hand up, flipping it this way and that. Yup, still human. He yawns, turning and reaching blindly for his pillow… but his hand touches skin and his eyes fly open.

Golden blonde hair tickles his cheek.

 _Lucy._

His hand is on her exposed midriff where the shirt she's wearing—one of his, he recognises—has ridden up to reveal her underwear. Natsu feels his blood heat up at the sight and he quickly looks away.

His eyes land on the bandages around Lucy's arm where he remembered her bleeding.

Wait, _remembered?_

Lucy stirs. She slowly looks over her shoulder, blinking her bleary eyes.

"Natsu," she murmurs, turning around. "You're awake."

"...Luce?"

He lifts his head and scans his surroundings. Yup, they're definitely in his room. So why is Lucy sleeping in his bed? What happened last night?

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm…" he swallows, "I'm good. I feel great."

Lucy nods to herself. "It was your first time dragonising so you wore yourself out really quick. Igneel said a good night's sleep will have you as good as new, and looks like…"

He zones out of her rambling.

What was the word she just used? _Dra…_

"It wasn't a dream…?"

Lucy mouth shuts abruptly. The shock on her face quickly fades into guilt. She bites her lip. "I'm sorry. I… forced you to dragonise because I couldn't see any other way to get out of there alive. I'm really, really sorry. I haven't been completely honest—"

"Wait," he stops her. His head is spinning. "You keep using that word. Dragonise. What does it mean?"

She pauses. The look on her face makes dread bloom through his chest.

"You're like me, Natsu. A human mix," she whispers. "You're half-dragon."

Half- _what?_

Lucy must see his panic and confusion because she's sitting up, pulling at his arms as well.

"Let your dad explain. I've already said too much."

Natsu feels numb. He lets Lucy drag him out the room and down the stairs.

He can smell his father sitting on the couch, as well as the coffee he's drinking. When he concentrates he hears three heartbeats in his home.

It feels similar to when Lucy gave him enhanced senses. Except now it feels _natural_. Feels like his senses have been _waiting_ to be sharpened like this.

When the arrive in the living room, Natsu's frown deepens. The troubled expression on his father's face is not something Natsu is familiar with. Lucy pulls him down onto the adjacent loveseat, then stands to leave.

"You can stay, Lucy."

The cushions sink when Lucy settles back down.

The three of them are silent, but nothing else is. Natsu can _hear_ _everything_. Macao next door telling Romeo not to forget his lunch at school; a squirrel scuttling across the trees outside; Happy jumping from one surface to another somewhere in the house.

"It'll take awhile to get used to," Igneel comments, his deep voice rumbling like smoke unfurling. "Be careful with your strength, though. I'm in no mood to be fixing broken doors."

Natsu knows Igneel is trying to ease the tension, but for once he doesn't feel like laughing. He finally looks up at his father.

...Were the wrinkles on Igneel's face always so pronounced?

"Explain everything," Natsu demands. "Now."

Igneel heaves a deep sigh. There's turmoil swimming in the dark eyes that regard his son with a firm resolve. "Natsu. I've hidden this from you all your life, but it seems I can no longer do so. I am the Flame Dragon King. Your mother was human. We gave birth to you, a half-dragon.

"For centuries I lived in the realm of Dragnof with my fellow dragons, isolated from the other realms, learning of beings other than us only from scrolls. But since I was a wee hatchling, I have always been curious about the world outside. It was when I was crowned Flame Dragon King that I finally got to meet beings from other realms." Igneel pauses, his eyes turning mournful. "It was then I met Layla Heartfilia—the Celestial Queen, and Lucy's mother."

Natsu looks at Lucy in surprise. Her expression is melancholic and she unconsciously shifts a little closer to Natsu, as if seeking comfort. He grabs her hand. He's needing a bit of comfort himself.

"Layla showed me and a few other dragons the wonders of the other realms, but the one realm I was drawn to was, of course, Earthland," his voices turns wistful. "I vowed I would one day make the journey to Earthland. Only I never expected it to be a one-way trip."

"Are you not allowed back to Dragnof?" Lucy asks softly.

Igneel shakes his head. "It's not that. It's more like, I found a reason to stay."

Their eyes meet, and Natsu's breath catches at the love reflecting in his father's eyes. His father smiles.

"When I came to Earthland, I met your beautiful mother, and we had you," Igneel continues, "once I found out your mother was pregnant I knew I would make Earthland my home."

"Why?" Natsu hears himself question. He hates how his voice shakes. "Why Earthland? Not Dragnof?"

Guilt and shame—expressions he would never have associated with his father—cloud the old dragons face. "The dragons would never accept you. Dragons are prideful creatures. They do not approve of inter-species mating."

Lucy tightens her hold on his hand. He runs a hand through his hair roughly. "Okay," he breathes, "nothing like a little raci—uh, specism?"

He nudges Lucy with his elbow and she rolls her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. Natsu releases his breath in a rush.

"I get it, dad, I do," he rubs the back of his neck. "I don't exactly feel… upset, if I'm honest. Just confused. Overwhelmed."

Igneel smirks. "You're getting excited, aren't ya?"

"Are you kidding?! I wanted to be a dragon my entire life," he barks a laugh, throwing his body back against the couch. Then he shoots back up. "All throughout middle school I bugged you about whether dragons were real and you said no every! single! time!"

The smirk on his dad's face widens into a snicker. "Had to keep the secret."

"Ugh," he groans. "Why, though? Why keep it a secret? I really need to know."

"I wanted to protect you. I know, I know, it's cliché and all, but it's true. You've experienced the danger first hand with Lucy. If the universe knows of your existence creatures from all over will come for you. For a piece of the ancient blood flowing through your veins. It's pure power that they chase."

"Wait, so all those attacks… They weren't just coming for Lucy? They were coming for me, too?" he gasps loudly suddenly, a memory surfacing in his mind. "The minotaur! The dragon it was talking about… it was me?"

"I think it might've been my fault…" Lucy speaks up.

He frowns. "What?"

"Ever since I left home at 16, I've had run-ins with monsters," Lucy explains, "I think my mum set up a protection spell around my home, similar to what Igneel must've done for you. Once I left, of course, it was like a signal that there was a half-Celestial prancing around, ripe for the taking.

"Even so, the creatures only came like, once every few months? But once I met you," she looks at him, "all of a sudden the attacks are multiple times a month!"

She dwindles her thumbs nervously. Natsu sits in silence, processing the information. It's true that while at first he had been fascinated, the novelty of monster attacks soon wore off into fear and annoyance. Especially when they're so frequent.

"I had one of my Spirits research awhile back, when the minotaurs attacked… Apparently our scents mix and become more potent when we're together. I think exposure to my Celestial powers triggered the release of your dragon scent, despite Igneel's seal."

"Mm… When I sealed your magic, Natsu, I never would've expected you to stumble into someone else's," Igneel shakes his head with a chuckle. "Because you're not fully human, your latent power must've reacted to the discharge of magic near you and made you discoverable to other magic beings."

"I'm sorry," Lucy sighs. "It's my fault."

"That's bullshit."

"Natsu's right, Lucy," the Flame Dragon King's brows furrow. "You should not be blaming yourself. If anything, I would say it was Fate that brought the two of you together."

Natsu's face scrunches. "Fate is real?"

"I don't know," Igneel shrugs, finally relaxing. He lies back on the couch and spreads his arms. "I'm just saying."

Natsu grumbles under his breath.

"Regardless of whether Lucy accelerated your magic or not. The amount of monsters appearing is a cause for concern. You should not be experiencing so many attacks in such a short amount of time."

Lucy bites the nail on her thumb worriedly. "Crux, my Spirit, said that holes have been appearing in the gates of Tartaros. I've been meaning to tell you, Igneel."

Igneel's frown deepens. "Holes, you say? But it is only natural that the Tartaros gates open up sometimes when the creatures force themselves through."

"Yes, but like you said, the visits are becoming more frequent. And this time it's not the gates opening. It's _holes_ appearing."

Natsu whips his head back and forth between his father and his girlfriend, their discussion practically flying over his head. Seemingly catching his confused expression, Lucy turns to him to explain.

"Every realm has its own barriers and its own gates. Most species have conquest in their instincts, so the realms do not usually interact, in order to maintain peace. However, the gates between realms can be opened to facilitate travel. Travel between realms is rare and requires prior permission. Kinda like how you might need to apply for a visa when you visit another country sometimes, you know?"

"...I think I get it."

"Yeah, so most of the time only ambassadors or leaders get to travel the realms. Tartaros is something like a prison in the Underworld. A really big and vast prison. It's where the most violent and bloodthirsty creatures are banished to. Like any prison, there are inmates who want to escape by forcing holes in the gates. Once in a while, a Tartaros creature manages to escape to another realm, usually Earthland, because there's no inherent magic that's set up to keep them out. That's why I get attacked."

"Surely it can't be that easy to escape a prison…"

Lucy shrugs. "It can be when you don't have prison guards."

"Ah."

"Even so, the attacks are much too frequent and there are too many creatures coming at once. Remember the minotaurs? They don't hunt in packs. They never cooperate enough to escape together."

"So you're saying someone is sending them?" Igneel interrupts then.

"It… might be too early to say that," Lucy admits, "but the possibility is there. It could, of course, just be that the gate is weakening. Although, I'm not sure if that's even possible…"

They all fall silent, their minds racing as they process their predicament.

"Well, with the situation as it is, I say we equip ourselves to deal with it."

Both Natsu and Lucy turn to Igneel, who suddenly seems almost excited.

"How?" Natsu asks hesitantly.

Igneel claps his hands together and rubs them in glee. Lucy gasps softly when small flames burst from his hands.

"Training, Natsu! Now that you know everything about yourself, I can finally start teaching you how to use your abilities!"

Excitement bubbles from within him. Natsu grins eagerly. The idea of playing with fire— _his_ fire, because he's a freaking _dragon_ —ignites a passion and drive within him.

"I'm all fired up now!"

⁑

⁑

"I'm dying."

"No you're not."

"Luce, I'm _dying_ ," he groans, burying his face in the soft cushions on Lucy's couch. He hears Lucy snort. He pushes himself up to glare halfheartedly. "Please have more sympathy for the dying man on your couch."

"Weren't you ecstatic about training? I remember someone saying something about being 'all fired up'," she smirks. She barely spares him a glance before going back to her laptop.

Natsu just grunts in response.

Ever since Natsu discovered his true nature, him and Lucy have only gotten closer. They hung out together whenever they had free time, being the only other person they could talk to about the more… magical aspects of their lives. The only problem was that free time was scarce.

Between rigorous training and the sudden truckload of schoolwork, Natsu barely had time to just hang out with Lucy anymore. Which is why he seized this rare opportunity where he had some free time to go over to Lucy's place and bug her. And hopefully finally ask her something he's always wanted to…

"Luuucyyyy," he whines, seeing how she's not paying attention to him at all. "You were the one who told me not to eat fire and yet you were also the one to stuff it in my mouth. And now you're ignoring my suffering?!"

Lucy finally turns around, amused smile playing on her lips. Their eyes meet and she catches the twitch in the corners of his lips. Her eyes narrow. "You're not really exhausted, are you?"

He finally rolls over so he look at her properly. His lips split in his signature wide grin. "Maybe I just wanted you to pay attention to me."

She blinks at him, then laughs. The subsequent pout on his face only makes her chuckle harder. Despite her laughing, she closes her laptop and places it on the coffee table.

Lucy stands, looking down at him with a crooked smile. "Only if you stop hogging the entire couch."

Natsu grins, sitting up and letting her take the spot where his head had been. Once she's settled, he lies back down again, releasing a happy sigh when the back of his head hits her sweatpants-clad thighs.

"So," he begins, licking his dry lips. Lucy arches a curious brow. "I know we've technically only had one date…"

"It's a bit hard when monsters are trying to kill us."

He rolls his eyes. "Tell me about it."

So far they've encountered another fury, which he toasted, and a serpentine creature called a drakon that spit venom at them. Man, Lucy had been so pissed when the acid melted her whip.

Luckily the drakon they'd met was a young one and thus actually killable, according to Lucy. She'd sliced the thing into pieces with Cancer's swords after she managed to muzzle it with Virgo's chains while Natsu ran distraction.

Lucy breathes a laugh at his annoyed tone. Her fingers thread through his hair, making his heart jump—which is so not cool, because it's already threatening to burst out of his chest. He's so nervous it's not even funny.

"Anyway, what I wanted to say was, although it's only been one date, I feel like we've known each other for forever, and we've kinda experienced some really… _life-changing_ events together too. So I hope you don't think it's too early for me to ask you this…"

Natsu takes a deep breath. He can do this! He's freaking Fire Dragon for goodness sake!

"Do you wanna go out with me? Officially?"

Lucy stares at him blankly. His throat feels like it's drying up.

Then, the most radiant smile stretches across her face. The smile gets closer and closer, and before his mind can comprehend what's happening Lucy's lips are on his, gentle and soft.

It's barely a brush of their lips but he's a little dazed when she pulls away. His half-lidded eyes focus on her lips as she parts them to speak.

"Of course, dummy," she grins. Damn, her mouth is really pretty.

"Wait, really?" He sits up again, the gleeful smile threatening to split his face in two. Not that it would really matter. He's sure he can die happy now.

Lucy nods, her wide grin matching his. Natsu barely holds back loud cheer, instead choosing to surge forward, cupping her cheek in his hand and sealing his lips over hers. She hums into the kiss, sliding her fingers into his hair. She'd always wanted to know how they felt.

Up close her floral scent floods his senses, and he can taste the sweet milk tea she had been drinking. Of all his enhanced senses his nose had given him the most trouble, but being so close to Lucy and having her aroma permeate his nostrils so thoroughly is calming. He already knows that kissing her is going to be his new favourite hobby.

When they part he leans his forehead against hers and opens his eyes slowly.

Lucy smiles. "There's no way I'd say no to someone who risked their lives to fight beside me. Even when they didn't have powers."

"...Yet," he can't help but add.

She throws her head back and laughs. The sound still sounds like bells chiming and Natsu still thinks it's absolutely fitting for a Celestial.

When she calms down there's a wicked glint in her eyes. "So, since you do have your powers now, and the Tartaros gates are still leaking dangerous creatures…"

Something about her expression excites him, igniting a fire in his chest. Her eyes twinkle with the promise of an adventure.

"Why don't we do some hunting of our own?"

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I originally planned on ending this story here, and then starting a sequel that's more interconnected one-shots of their fights with various monsters than a proper story. Which is really why I initially said the story is completed & short. But... the plot bunnies attacked, and now I have a little bit more of an actual story... So instead of ending it, I'll be continuing everything in this story!

It's finals week next week, so the next update will be coming a little later. Thank you so much to everyone who's read the story & especially those who reviewed & faved/followed. I'll see you in the next one :)


	6. sixth monster

**Three months later**

Lucy watches the minotaurs fight and bites her lip to stifle a laugh.

"You're really evil, you know that?"

She turns to look at the owner of the husky voice she'd come to know so well. The powerful red wings sprouting from his back stretch to cover her protectively. He crouches on a low-hanging branch, his peculiar dragon feet balancing him on the thin surface. Red scales cover his forehead and surround his usually onyx eyes, that now burn in a fiery red slits like the fire that he wields. Natsu, the flame half-dragon.

Tucking a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear, Lucy smirks. "Whatever do you mean?"

Natsu shoots her a playful glare, but its effect is reduced by the way his eyes linger on her revealing outfit. They've been over this before. It's really not her choice that the Taurus form of her Star Dress is basically a bikini top and pants with mismatching lengths. It's quite a sight, especially in the winter. She's lucky she doesn't feel the effects of temperature when she's in her Star Dress.

His eyes darken as they run across her exposed skin.

"Eyes up here, dragon boy."

It probably isn't wise to be teasing a dragon. Natsu's eyes snap up to hers and a dangerous smirk flashes across his face. He turns back to watching Taurus fight the Tartaros minotaur.

Despite them both being minotaurs, Taurus looks more like a cow with the white skin and black spots, whereas the minotaur is a dark brown monster of feral rage. Taurus swings his giant axe expertly. He finally stops playing around with the creature and decisively strikes, cutting off its left arm.

"Ooh, that's nasty," Lucy scrunches up her face.

"That's what you get for summoning an axe-wielding cow."

Lucy shrugs. "It's not my fault Taurus lost a bet with Gemini. Honestly, he should know better than to bet with Spirits who can literally read his mind. You know me, I'm just doing my best to keep my Spirits happy. If Taurus wants to fight the minotaurs and be mercilessly teased afterwards, then so be it."

Natsu chuckles, shaking his head. He stretches his entire body and shudders at the feeling. "Don't even know why I dragonised. Taurus is enough to deal with that thing."

She claps her hands a few times. "Let's wrap this up quickly and go on a date."

"A date?" Natsu jumps down from the tree excitedly.

Lucy's outfit morphs into her Cancer form. She shoots her boyfriend a wink then lunges forward. "First one to the kill gets to decide what we do!"

⁑

⁑

Her back slams against the door painfully, but the pain is forgotten in the next instance when his lips latch on her throat. He sucks hard at the spot he's long memorised to be the most sensitive and she shivers. Natsu's lips kiss a burning path up to her ear where he bites on her earlobe and tugs.

Lucy moans at the feeling, pulling at his hair to direct his lips back to hers. She shoves her tongue into his warm mouth and feels his tangle with hers. He sucks on her tongue roughly as his hands wander upwards, from the soft flesh of her thighs up to her waist and finally squeezing her breasts. He groans into her mouth.

"I have to say," Natsu grunts between kisses. "I don't feel like I lost at all. Although you totally cheated."

She laughs breathlessly, pressing her lips against his. "Does it matter? We would've ended up here either way."

Instead of replying, Natsu bucks into her and she gasps.

Her eyes fly open when a familiar feeling tingles at the back of her mind.

"N—Natsu, baby—wait."

He moves his face away, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her more securely. He licks his lips at the the sight of her—hair tousled, cheeks flushed, a red mark on her neck courtesy of him. Then his brain finally focuses. "Baby?" he smirks. "I like that."

Lucy's cheeks darken more. She opens her mouth to reply, but a telltale glow shines from behind him and he drops his head angrily.

"Um, wow," a familiar voice says. "Is this a bad time?"

Natsu lets her go, making sure her feet touch the ground before spinning around to glare at the intruder. "Loke," he snarls.

There's a shit eating grin on the lion Spirit's face.

Lucy sighs heavily. "I _told_ you guys I was busy!"

"I thought you meant busy with schoolwork…" Loke trails off, but they all know its a lie.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?!" she huffs angrily. "I'm. Trying. To. Get. Laid!"

Natsu looks at her in surprise. She's never been so direct before, but clearly Loke has been getting on her nerves as much as he has on Natsu's.

Loke pouts unhappily. Ever since Natsu and Lucy had progressed to the more _intimate_ aspects of their relationship, Loke had been trying his best to cockblock them as much as possible. The only place he never dared manifest on his own was in Natsu's house. Something about the dragon energy being too suffocating.

So sue her, Lucy just wants to have a good time in the comfort of her own home. _Why_ did she have to have such meddlesome Spirits?

"You better have something important to tell me, or I'm not going to summon you for at least another month!"

Loke waves her threat away with a hand. "I'll just come through the gate myself."

He saunters towards her couch and plops down on it with a happy sigh.

Natsu grins evilly. "You know we've Christened that couch already, right?"

Instantly Loke shoots up, disgust plain on his face as he eyes the piece of furniture. It's a total lie, of course, but a good one if it makes their cockblocker uncomfortable.

"Do you think if we just fuck in front of him, he'll go away?" Lucy sighs into his ear. He jumps and stares at her, both horrified and turned on. It's unfair how she can make the blood rush south with a little dirty talk.

"Hmm…" Loke taps a finger on his chin. His face brightens up. "Does that mean I'll get to see Lucy naked?"

Natsu growls at him, feeling his dragon side rising to the surface. The horns are just beginning to peek out from his head when Lucy places a hand on his shoulder to calm him. His breath comes out through his nostrils as steam.

"Alright, chill out," the lion Spirit raises both his hands. "No matter how much I want to, I didn't disturb you guys on purpose. I actually have a message."

"A message? Who from?"

"Crux, of course. He's been keeping an eye out on monster activity ever since you decided to go on a hunting spree." Loke snaps his fingers and a map of Fiore appears. Red dots appear all over the country. They seem to be connected in a path… "The dots are the monster's tracks. We believe it entered Earthland from a portal near Crocus, but it has steadily been making its way across the country to Magnolia, where you guys are. I'm pretty sure it's drawn to the power the two of you are radiating, just like the numerous other monsters before it were."

Lucy nods. She has her game face on, Natsu can tell, as she pushes past him to survey the map more closely. He sighs. And he really was hoping to get lucky tonight.

"Do you know what kind of monster it is?"

"Following the trail of animal bodies… I'm inclined to believe it's something of the were species."

Her hands fly to her mouth in surprise. "A were?"

Natsu's brows pinch. He walks forward. "What's a were?"

"You know, like, werewolves, weretigers…" she trails off. Lucy nibbles on her lips, a nervous tick of hers, he recognises.

"Okay… so when is it gonna get here?"

"Within the next week, Crux guessed," Loke nudges his shades higher up his nose.

"So… there's no immediate danger…?" Natsu asks slowly. He can feel himself heating up. Loke seems to notice this as well, because the Spirit laughs awkwardly and begins to back away.

Seething, Natsu steps forward. The heat is practically rolling off in waves now.

"You came early on purpose," the half-dragon growls.

"Oh, would you look at the time!" Loke exclaims, looking at his empty wrist. "I gotta go attend to some very important Celestial matters. Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"LOKE!"

The Spirit disappears in a burst of golden light as Natsu lunges, causing him to stumble at the empty space.

Lucy sighs again. "Calm down before you burn my house down, Natsu."

He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. When he opens them again Lucy is standing in front of him, and she giggles at the way he pouts.

"Loke's finally gone," she reassures him. "And we can put the were-creature aside for a moment…"

She places a hand on his cheek and steps closer to him. Her body presses up against his purposefully. Natsu instinctively places his hands on her hips. Hm… looks like he could get lucky after all…

Lucy gives him a saucy smirk. "Now, what did you say about Christening the couch?"

⁑

⁑

"Finally done with the semester!" Natsu cheers enthusiastically. He throws both hands up into the chilly air.

"You're making a scene, Natsu." Lucy shakes her head with a fond smile.

Natsu just grins, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "I'm just excited to spend the break with you."

A scoff interrupts them. They turn to look at the man with the messy raven hair. "Still can't believe Hothead over here managed to snag you before the end of the semester."

"You're just bitching 'cause I have a girlfriend and you don't, Droopy Eyes," Natsu sneers.

Gray shudders. "Lucy, to this day I have no idea how you put up with him."

Lucy chuckles, patting her boyfriend's cheek. "Well, Natsu _is_ pretty cute…"

"Are you saying you only like me for my looks?!" Natsu whines.

"Amongst the many other _talents_ you have…" she winks, and Natsu smirks. Their own otherworldly secret.

"Please enlighten me when you figure out what those talents are," Gray mocks.

Lucy just laughs at Natsu's angry grumble. They continue to walk out of the building and towards one of the campus' gates. "What are you doing for the break, Gray?"

"Skiing," Gray replies. "Turns out my long-lost dad has a Ski Lounge up in Mt. Hakobe. He invited my entire foster family to spend winter break."

"That sounds amazing!" she gushes. Lucy had heard from Natsu that Gray was raised by a single foster mother in a home with another boy and girl, and had only recently managed to reunite with his biological father. "Do you think he'd let us up there once?"

"Sure he would. It's still a business after all."

Lucy turns to Natsu with a wide grin. "Let's go there for a weekend or something!"

Natsu shrugs. "If we have time…"

Oh, right. They were planning on going all out with the hunting over the winter. Hopefully the cold weather would prevent new monsters from coming in, and stop the monsters who've breached Earthland from moving around too much. It would be the opportune moment for a fire dragon to carry out his hunt with his Celestial by his side.

"Well, I'm going this way." Gray points to the opposite direction. "I'll see you guys next semester."

She nods and waves. "Keep in touch!"

Gray merely throws a hand up in greeting.

"Sheesh, talk about rude," Natsu grumbles again.

"You guys are honestly the cutest," Lucy giggles. "Like a bunch of children. Add Gajeel into the mix and you've got a mini kindergarten!"

"Ugh, you just made me picture them as children!"

Her laughter only increases at her boyfriend's disgruntled expression. She pokes him on the cheek and coos at him until he cracks, grinning toothily.

"Ah, I wonder if Gajeel will get along with Levy's family? He _is_ gonna hang out with them for Christmas…"

Natsu snorts. "Gajeel? Getting along with people? Ha!"

"Have some faith in your childhood friend, will you?"

"I've got no faith in that loser."

Lucy merely shakes her head in amusement. She breathes a sigh. "I hope no monsters show up during Christmas. That would be just mean."

"You just _had_ to say it, didn't you?" Natsu chuckles. "Now we're definitely getting a Christmas present from the nasties."

"Are you saying I jinxed it?!"

" _I_ didn't say that, you did."

He ducks away when she tries to jab her elbow into his side, cackling loudly. In retaliation Lucy lunges at him, jumping onto his back. His hands instinctively come up to hold her jean-clad thighs. A mischievous grin splits across his face. Natsu spins around and Lucy screams, but they quickly dissolve into exhilarated laughter.

"You know I _hate_ to interrupt…"

Their laughter cuts off abruptly. Natsu turns, bringing Lucy along with him. Loke is standing there, unphased by the cold in his usual tuxedo.

"Loke!" Lucy hisses, "you can't just materialise!" She looks around frantically, thankfully finding the area empty. "What if someone sees you?!"

"I'm not reckless," the Spirit waves a hand. "I did check before I popped out."

Lucy heaves a long-suffering sigh. She pats Natsu's shoulder and he sets her down. She places a hand on her hip. "Okay, fine. What is it?"

"Got some updates on the were situation," Loke says, voice taking on a serious note. Immediately the half-dragon and half-Celestial step closer to him. "Reports of vicious animal attacks in Acalypha. Looks like it, or possibly _they_ , stopped for a quick snack."

"Acalypha's a few hours out. We should get going so we can catch them before they move again," Lucy frowns and looks up at Natsu worriedly.

"Yeah," he agrees. He looks up at the darkening sky and feels the dragon within him ache to be set free. "Once the sun sets," he promises, "I'll fly us there."

⁑

⁑

Pros of having a boyfriend that flies: soaring through the air, feeling the wind, looking down and watching the towns fly by in a blur of light.

Lucy sighs happily, running her hand over the scales on the arms around her waist. Lips brush against ear from behind as he leans to give her a kiss.

The darkness of the night sky allows them perfect cover, especially when Natsu slips between the clouds. His broad wings glide along the wind effortlessly. Through the goggles on her head she can make out the dazzling lights of cities and the muted greens of forests, blending together like one big piece of artwork.

"I'm going on the right way, right?" Natsu murmurs.

She pulls her phone out from her coat pocket. "According to Google Maps, yes. Oh! We're almost there. Drop… now."

Natsu tightens his grip around her and dives. HIs wings bend as the propel him forward into the trees on the outskirt of the small town. Once they near the ground Natsu straightens, his wings flapping once, twice, gently slowing his descent until his feet touch the ground.

"You good?" he asks Lucy, letting her out of his arms.

Lucy grins and nods. She pulls the goggles off her face and they disappear with a wave. With another, his sneakers appear in her hand.

"It's so unfair how you can just do that." Natsu shakes his head. He flexes and lets his dragon features fade back into him. Walking into town with looking like a monster probably wouldn't do him any good.

"Maybe you should learn some spatial magic then," Lucy laughs. She straightens her own attire. And watches him finish slipping into his shoes. She holds out a hand. "Shall we go?"

Natsu smiles, intertwining his fingers with hers. They walk out of the forest and onto the road leading into Acalypha Town. It's a few hours' drive away from Magnolia, but with Natsu's flying they'd managed to get there within 20 minutes.

"So… How are we going to find this were thing?"

"With our luck, it's going to come to us," Lucy wrinkles her nose. "But let's see if we can get close to the crime scene. You might be able to catch its lingering scent with that miracle nose of yours."

The night is quiet in the night, with the shops closing up and the locals hurrying home. Acalypha is an old town known for its local produce and simple living, and they receive a few wary looks when they pass.

"They seem spooked," Natsu comments.

"Probably has to do with the attacks. You know things like that don't happen in around quiet towns like this."

Natsu sniffs at the air, then grimaces. "I can still smell the blood."

Lucy gestures for him to move, and she follows as he weaves through the small town, following his nose to where the crime scene must be. Although, it's a little hard to miss, when they round a corner and police tape surrounds the area.

"The… pet store?"

They stand a distance away, so as not to look to suspicious.

"The attacks were on animals? Not humans?" Lucy blinks, bewildered.

Natsu nods grimly. "I don't smell any human blood at all."

"Should we… go inside? I mean, I can get Virgo to dig…"

"Maybe later," Natsu replies. He looks around and sees that the remaining stragglers on the street are shooting them suspicious looks. "When no one's around."

"...Right." She clears her throat and takes his hand again, continuing her walk with an act of nonchalance. "We should pop by the bar. An incident like this must get the people talking."

The moment they enter the bar, the feeling hits them like a wave.

Lucy stiffens immediately. "You feel that?"

"The magic?" he says in a low voice. "Yeah. It's _thrumming_."

The bar is moderately busy, most people quietly drinking and talking with their friends, nothing like the rowdiness Lucy's used to seeing in the bars around campus. Thankfully, they easily find an unoccupied table in a darker corner.

"I can't tell who it's coming from," she hisses at the sit down. Natsu's frown deepens.

"Hi there! Welcome to Love & Lucky. What can I get for you guys today?" They look up to find a female around their age, her short, snowy white hair tied into two short ponytails. She has beautiful cerulean eyes, and is giving them both wide smiles. Her uniform is a strange sleeveless black top with a revealing cut at the bust, which is covered by a fishnet-like material that still reveals her ample cleavage.

"What is Acalypha famous for?" Lucy asks.

The waitress smiles. "Well, our bar is famous for our home-made craft beer! The locals all rave about it."

Lucy looks at Natsu, who shrugs. "We'll have two glasses, then."

"Two glasses of Acalypha craft beer, coming right up!"

The waitress turns, her long skirt swishing.

Lucy takes the time to glance around, but she doesn't notice anyone suspicious. "It could be anyone."

Natsu's nose twitches. She looks at him expectantly, but his shoulder slump. "The smell of alcohol is too strong. I can't tell either."

"We'll just have to be careful."

"I hear something," Natsu murmurs. "My three o'clock."

Lucy allows Leo's power to flood through her, sharpening her senses.

"...it was disgusting. Blood everywhere. All over the walls… Don't know how the pet store's coming back from that."

"They say it might've been a wolf or coyote or something. Some kinda hunter type"

"How'd it get into town, though? Surely someone must've seen it."

"It probably got in at night…"

"Here you are!"

Lucy jolts back into reality. The distraction causes her powers to fade, and she can no longer hear the conversation a few tables over. She blinks and notices the two large glasses in front of her.

"Thanks," she hears Natsu say.

Gathering her wits, Lucy shoots the waitress a small smile. Her hands reach out to take a hold of the drink, taking a small sip. Her eyes widen in surprise. "It really is good."

Natsu nods in agreement, his lips on his glass, but his focus is still on the men from before.

"Are they saying anything else?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing important. But you heard what they said earlier, right? About the wolf or coyote."

Lucy's face hardens. "Sounds like our were alright. We might have to sneak into the pet store later to have a closer look."

"Yeah, I—"

He blinks. Suddenly Lucy seems to split into two. Two Lucys? Wait… Everything is becoming blurry.

The two Lucys split into four, and he watches all of them slump onto the table at the same time. Realisation pierces through his foggy mind, but it's too late.

 _I'm never drinking again_ , he blearily promises, then everything goes black.

* * *

 _ **A/N** : And... we're back! Hope you guys enjoyed this :) Thanks to everyone who's faved/followed & reviewed! _


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